Food Inc.

Although I haven't blogged about it, our little family of three has recently made some changes in the way we eat. Namely buying local food, seasonal food, foods in their whole (real) form and foods high in fats. But come to think of it, I haven't blogged about ANYTHING in a very long time now. But I've been too busy in the kitchen. Cooking. You think I'm kidding...

The decision to make some changes in our diet was not in response to any research of our own or any conclusion we had drawn. It was simply because a couple of friends had agreed to test recipes for a local chef who values nutrition and whole foods. This particular chef is Shane Kelly and I highly recommend you check out her site. Basically, she's all about eating real food. No processed or genetically engineered CRAP. She's all about a diet that is rich in fat. YES - rich in fat. How odd that concept seems to us brainwashed fat-free crazed, calorie-counting, fat-a-phobics! She's all about buying locally and seasonally and cooking ourselves, which challenges our notion of "food should be quickly prepared" or in other words FAST FOOD. Example: We don't eat Ranch dressing from a bottle anymore. I make it. And not with a packet of seasonings. And it's surprisingly easy to make. And fats are surprisingly curbing my appetite, keeping me lean. But it's more than just the simple statements I'm making here about it. Again, you should visit her site.

So, back to WHY I did this... Because my friends were. Listen, I'm a person who values personal taste over popularity. I have never liked music or movies or clothing or what-have-you because it was liked by my friends or by the masses. It's something I've often prided myself on. Well, I'm eating humble pie now. Organic humble pie, I should say. And it's pretty darn good pie by the way.

So, yes, I followed my friends on my recent diet change. And before that I followed the mass of "thinking consumers" for years, mostly buying organic products, free range meats, cage free eggs. I ditched McDonalds and most fast food years ago. I became a loyal patron of the Whole Foods-type stores. But I didn't have too much information behind my decisions to buy and consume organic, environmentally friendly, healthy food.

But now I do.

And it's this little documentary called Food Inc. You've probably heard of it. You may have no interest in watching it, but LET ME TELL YOU, it is worth 2 hours of your time to EDUCATE YOURSELF on the CRAP you are cramming down your pie-hole each and every day. I mean, seriously. It's disturbing. And it's disturbing not just because of the poor quality of the food that is marketed to the majority of consumers, but because of the food industry's downright sinister practices. The food industry is evil, according to this film. Workers are treated like modern day slaves, local farmers are bullied down and it is practically illegal to question what the food industry is doing. Did you know that if you criticize the beef industry in Colorado, you can be thrown in jail? It's out of control! And so alarming.

But the thing I liked the most about this film is that it doesn't leave you hanging on the negative and horrifying truths about the food industry in America. The thing I like about this film, no - LOVE about this film, is that it offers you (me) alternatives to the CRAP the supermarkets sell. It empowers us, the consumers, to THINK about our choices in what we buy. To THINK about where our food is coming from. To read that HUGE list of ingredients on the box of Cheez-Its. To realize the impact our choices have not only on the environment but on the lives of the exploited workers and "farmers" of these massive food industries that are hardly treated any different than the unfortunate animals the food industry abuses daily.

This film will arm you with so much information and reasons to buy locally, seasonally, organically, etc., etc., etc.

So watch it. It's so, so good. And maybe I'll see you at the Farmer's Market this Saturday?