It was a simple question really. My sweet husband just wanted to know if I would like to stay home and get some "work" done before we leave on vacation ?"
"Alright" I said
So here I sit , in the early evening, with my stolen moment. I didn't really want to do any "work". All I truly wanted was to sit in my paradise garden and listen to the bees buzz around in the lavendar, feel the breeze against my face, smell the cinnamon scent of the 4 o'clocks, catch the whiff of mint and thyme with an under current of rose scent. Did I mention that I could smell the figs and small peaches too ? Put my feet in the water, all the while looking at the mountains. So here is my moment, may you find one of your own ! Enjoy!
Yesterday I saw a preview to a new movie called Food Inc. Usually movies like this scares me to death and I do not like to work from a place of fear, but for the longest while I've had a new awareness slowly sneaking up on me that there are many scary items in our food source.
Travelling mama Angelina Hart and I shared a couple of comments on her blog that had us both asking what can we do to make changes in our diets but more importantly the larger picture which is the food industry itself?
Very daunting ideas indeed for a couple of travelling families. We both agreed something needed to be done but what ? Food Inc. left me with a clearer awareness of what is in our food and the choices I can make to be the change. The choices we can all make to be the change. Here are some simple things we can do to help change our food system:
Want to lose 25lbs? Replace one 20 oz soda a day with a no calorie drink, like water. Eat at home. This can help in the calorie crunch. Kids consume almost twice as many calories when eating outside the home. Work with your Schools. Collalborate with your school to stop selling sodas, junk food, and sports drinks in the cafeteria. These items have been a leading cause in the rising obestiy rate among children between the ages of 6 and 19. Meat Free Day. Choose one day a week to go without meat. 70% of all antibiotics used in the US are given to farm animals. Buy Organic. Buying organic,pestiside food will reduce the 1 billion pounds of pesticides used each year in our food chain. Want more say in the matter? Make sure that the food is raised on a farm using sustainable practices. Eat Local. Take a visit to your local farmers market. For every dollar you spend they get to keep 80 to 90 cents on the dollar. Have a local meal. Do you know where your food comes from? An average meal in America has taken the journey of 1500 miles before it was found at your local grocery store. Why not have a local only meal. If you would eat one meal of only local items every week, we could save millions of barrels of petrol/gas every week.
It really does get down to we vote with our dollars. In the last year I have started making very different and conscious buying decisions based on new information that I've been discovering. Starting next week I will be sharing those changes here on the blog as well as some of the practices that have been apart of my life for many years.
I would love to hear your ideas as well. Please leave me a comment to let me know what you think or what you are doing.
