Put your heart where your mouth is

[CristyCurves 169032]

It's easy to say but in todays market much harder to do. I always thought Europe led the way in it's farming practices and treatment and production of food animals but alas, read, study and one will become wiser. subsidised farming isn't in the best interest of the farmer, nor is it in the best interest of the environment. As many now know organic doesn't necessarily mean pesticide free. There are many cheaters out there. Nor does free range mean roaming around in green pastures. To buy humanely produced and healthier food has become a complicated and expensive time consuming practice. Sadly and as long as cheap prices and high demands remain the important factors in food buying nothing will change. So are you willing to put your heart where your mouth is? We all have to shop and buy within our budgets but in the end wouldn't we all be better off if we all spent a bit more to be healthier and kinder?

[Guest *Ste***cque**]

The more I read your posts the more I like you, Cristy.

 

I would, and have, paid more for locally raised and organic meat. I think if you stick with sellers at the local farmers markets you can feel more comfortable about what you're getting than what you get from XL. Spend any time away from your phones thinking of a corporate farm animals lot and you would spend the time and extra money making better choices in where you buy your food.

 

I'm not anthropomorphising animals when I say you should, if you're concerned at all about suffering, make appropriate choices with you food dollars. While most won't care(about animals, or what it says about themselves) there are enough people hopefully to support the higher priced independents. Now that we have a trade deal with Europe there is already a move towards organic practices. Let's hope it gets better.

[Guest A*ro**n]

Very true Cristy. Like a lot of other issues in our society, apathy is king. As long as its cheap and at our finger tips we're a happy bunch.

 

It does take a bit of planning and more money to eat healthy and make sure you're not ingesting too much crap. Here's a few of the things I've found work well:

 

Menu Planning - Taking 30 min to plan what you'd like to eat for the week helps you focus your grocery shopping so you're not making these decisions at the grocers

 

Join local food buying co-ops or CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) - This gets you access to the fresh, organic meat, veg and grains that are locally raised. The upside is that you're dealing very closely with the farmers and cutting out quite a few levels of the buying chain. Downside is that's usually a larger upfront cost.

 

 

Set up your own garden if you can - Turn that grass in your yard into a veggie garden and you know exactly what's going into your food. A bigger time investment of course, but very rewarding.

 

Thanks for a good thread!

[Guest ChantalSummers]

You absolutely have a heart of gold, Cristy. I have attempted to become a vegetarien for those exact reasons. I know too much about the meat industry and its dark and ugly. Meat itself is so delicious and has certain nutrients we need making it very hard for me on my vegetarien quest. But I won't stop trying as I love animals. I truly appreciate the reminder.

[Phaedrus 209521]

For those who are interested... a fascinating series of blogposts on this issue. Well worth reading, whatever your views on the subject.