If you can, that is. I realize that for some people, voting with their dollar is impossible. It is certainly more important for a mother to provide food for her family than to starve them to prove a point. But for most of us, it is possible to make at least a few changes in how we spend our money.
I just finished watching “Food, Inc.”, and I was disgusted. I was actually, physically nauseous. And I already knew most of the information presented in the film. But I need to be reminded on a regular basis why I make the choices I do. When I get lazy and start to compromise, I need films like this and books like Barbara Kingsolver’s “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” to keep me motivated to spend more money, more time, and more energy in shopping for and preparing food for my family.
But the real battle for me isn’t food prepared at home. Just like anyone on a special diet, it’s figuring out how to eat when out that is the real challenge. Some friends of mine have chosen to eat vegetarian diets–especially when the source of the meat is in question–and I am considering whether or not this choice is feasible for me. It is something I have attempted before and failed. But I have noticed that each time I come back to some decision like this, it is easier to stick to the next time around. And I am presently feeling very dedicated.
What’s so bad about industrial farmed meat? I don’t intend to go into all the nitty gritty here in this particular blog–Food, Inc. does a much better job than I could do–but here is a brief explanation of a few things that are especially bothersome to me. On industrial farms, animals are primarily fed non-organic, genetically modified corn and soy-based feeds and treated with antibiotics. The problem with such feed is that it is not a natural diet for these animals, and therefore, they cannot process it correctly. It makes them grow too big and too fast (so that their legs buckle under their own weight) and it makes them ill (so they require antibiotics). Another problem is that because corn and soy are pesticide-heavy crops and pesticides accumulate in fatty tissue and corn and soy make the animals extra-fatty (think well-marbled steak), consuming such meat means you are consuming an extra dose of pesticides.
On industrial farms, animals are confined in enclosures, often shoulder-to-shoulder with other animals. Because of the tight conditions, the animals are sometimes knee-deep in feces, making E. coli and salmonella contamination more likely. And because there is so much feces in a confined space, and the animals are often falling under their own weight, feces sticks to their legs and bellies. The animals and their feces then make their way to the slaughterhouse floor where the meat–especially the scraps that go on to be made into ground beef–are contaminated.
Because of this contamination, one company, Beef Products Inc., began treating these scraps with ammonia to kill the bacteria. Yes. Ammonia. Fast-food chains such as McDonalds, and Burger King, as well as grocery chains and school lunch programs use this ammonia-treated beef. And now, as a recent New York Times article suggests, studies are showing that the process might not be working after all.
So in my home, despite the cost, we are already committed to buying free-range meat and poultry and grass-fed beef. Chicken breasts are smaller, beef is leaner and tastes more “earthy”, but it is our normal. The higher nutritional value in meat from animals raised on a natural diet and who are free to roam (higher in omega 3 fatty acids, less fat) is worth the price tag. When out, however, we tend to throw caution to the wind and eat whatever suits our tastes at the moment. This will be my first (big) step forward in quite awhile, and it is one I have been meaning to take for some time.