resolutions
Dec. 31st, 2008 11:26 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chhotiiSo, I have a proposal for a New Year's Resolution for myself. It's to only eat "responsible" food, as much as possible. This is not a very strict resolution; the "as much as possible" clause is a huge loophole; I mean, if I'm at the hospital cafeteria, I'm stuck with what they serve, right? Besides, my definition of "responsible" food is kind of vague.
So, what do I mean by "responsible" food? Food that's produced in a way that's aware of its impact on the world. For example:
* Produce and grains: should be organic. Organic production methods-- even in the "big organic" industry-- take less of a toll on the environment. Or locally grown. I always look for anything that's either organic or locally grown in the produce department, figuring that anything locally grown, even if it's not organic, is better than something organic from far away. Not too much locally grown processed food in this area, though.
* Milk and milk products should be organic too. I'm not sure quite what makes milk "organic". I believe that, at least, they use less antibiotics than in standard dairy farming practice. It's absolutely appalling how freely antibiotics are used in industrial agriculture, given how that erodes the antibodies' efficacy.
* Meat should be... how should I put this... reduced-cruelty? Semi-humane? Read anything about how meat is produced on factory farms in this country, and you'll be appalled, both because of the miserable conditions in which animals are kept, and the amount of antibiotics used. These go hand in hand. If you keep animals in miserable conditions, they get sick more, and thus constantly need antibiotics. Corn-fed cattle, in particular, are fed a diet that makes them sick all the time. Ideally I'd love to just get meat from someplace like Polyface Farm (not Polyface Farm itself, because that's in Virginia, but there are probably farms in Maine or somewhere where one can meet the meat), but that would require a chest freezer and a huge expedition to somewhere very rural to buy a large fraction of an animal. Barring taking such large steps, we should at least just get meat at Whole Foods and/or look for "no antibiotics" on the labeling. I've looked at Whole Foods Market's animal husbandry guidelines, and they are not as cruelty-free as you might hope. But they are a step up from standard factory farming, at least.
* Fish: I should dig up some list of what kinds of fish we should and shouldn't be eating, because of overfishing problems.
* Coffee should be bird-friendly: that is, shade grown organic, which preserves some rain forest and good bird habitat. (So who's picking up some bird-friendly beans from NYC for me? :) :) :) )
* Chocolate should be good chocolate: organic, fair trade and all that. No more cheap crappy chocolate! (Although this might mean giving up my M&M habit. Pout!) The cheap crappy chocolate comes from West Africa, where they cut down the rainforest to grow the cocoa plants in full sun, which produces a lot of product really fast but with a much inferior flavor. Also, there are rumors of slave labor, child labor, etc., etc. Better to enjoy chocolate that does something positive for rural South American economies and tastes better anyway.
None of these ideas are new for us. I've been favoring organic, etc. in my shopping for a long time. But this year I could try to be more emphatic about these issues-- be more vocal about how Mom and Rich should reform their shopping habits-- and make more of an effort to get to Whole Foods as needed. Perhaps indulge Rich's desire get a chest freezer and half a cow from Maine, if he'll stop buying factory farmed meat from Market Basket in return.
So, what do I mean by "responsible" food? Food that's produced in a way that's aware of its impact on the world. For example:
* Produce and grains: should be organic. Organic production methods-- even in the "big organic" industry-- take less of a toll on the environment. Or locally grown. I always look for anything that's either organic or locally grown in the produce department, figuring that anything locally grown, even if it's not organic, is better than something organic from far away. Not too much locally grown processed food in this area, though.
* Milk and milk products should be organic too. I'm not sure quite what makes milk "organic". I believe that, at least, they use less antibiotics than in standard dairy farming practice. It's absolutely appalling how freely antibiotics are used in industrial agriculture, given how that erodes the antibodies' efficacy.
* Meat should be... how should I put this... reduced-cruelty? Semi-humane? Read anything about how meat is produced on factory farms in this country, and you'll be appalled, both because of the miserable conditions in which animals are kept, and the amount of antibiotics used. These go hand in hand. If you keep animals in miserable conditions, they get sick more, and thus constantly need antibiotics. Corn-fed cattle, in particular, are fed a diet that makes them sick all the time. Ideally I'd love to just get meat from someplace like Polyface Farm (not Polyface Farm itself, because that's in Virginia, but there are probably farms in Maine or somewhere where one can meet the meat), but that would require a chest freezer and a huge expedition to somewhere very rural to buy a large fraction of an animal. Barring taking such large steps, we should at least just get meat at Whole Foods and/or look for "no antibiotics" on the labeling. I've looked at Whole Foods Market's animal husbandry guidelines, and they are not as cruelty-free as you might hope. But they are a step up from standard factory farming, at least.
* Fish: I should dig up some list of what kinds of fish we should and shouldn't be eating, because of overfishing problems.
* Coffee should be bird-friendly: that is, shade grown organic, which preserves some rain forest and good bird habitat. (So who's picking up some bird-friendly beans from NYC for me? :) :) :) )
* Chocolate should be good chocolate: organic, fair trade and all that. No more cheap crappy chocolate! (Although this might mean giving up my M&M habit. Pout!) The cheap crappy chocolate comes from West Africa, where they cut down the rainforest to grow the cocoa plants in full sun, which produces a lot of product really fast but with a much inferior flavor. Also, there are rumors of slave labor, child labor, etc., etc. Better to enjoy chocolate that does something positive for rural South American economies and tastes better anyway.
None of these ideas are new for us. I've been favoring organic, etc. in my shopping for a long time. But this year I could try to be more emphatic about these issues-- be more vocal about how Mom and Rich should reform their shopping habits-- and make more of an effort to get to Whole Foods as needed. Perhaps indulge Rich's desire get a chest freezer and half a cow from Maine, if he'll stop buying factory farmed meat from Market Basket in return.
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Date: 2008-12-31 05:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-31 06:11 pm (UTC)http://www.stillmansfarm.com/theturkeyfarm.html
They have neighbors that farm very nice venison as well. http://www.mistyriverview.com/
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