Animal, Vegetable, Miracle Thoughts: How Can We Make a Difference?

Although I am not real convinced that my voice has clout with politicians, I am convinced that my money does have power. Where I choose to spend it, and whom I support with those choices does send a message and make an impact no matter how small...but what if another 100 families in my city made similar choices? What if thousands all over the country did the same? How many people would it take to make a change in our current food system? I don't know. Maybe my changes are only a drop in the bucket, but I can be sure that the changes we are making help align our family values with our food choices.

In Animal, Vegetable, Miracle it states that if every U.S. citizen ate one meal from local, organic ingredients we would save 1.1 million BARRELS of oil every WEEK. That sounds like a lot to me. And that's only a start. What if everyone ate mostly locally??? Doesn't that make you think?

Currently in our country we farm 1.2 acres/person in our country. Based on predictions for 2050 we will only have about .6 acres/person...so change is coming. Maybe we won't have room to farm corn for the corn syrup for the 219 gallons of soda/person we drink in this country? It is possible to have enough food/person. Barbara Kingsolver calculated that their food footprint for their whole family was about 1 acre (this includes their own produce, animals, farmer's market produce, grain, and dairy). And they ate for about $.50/family member/meal! So the question is will we change when we are forced to, or will we be proactive and be part of positive change.

Here are some things you can do (if you aren't doing them already):
1-grow as much of your own food as possible
2-store and preserve(freeze, can, etc) as much our your own food as possible
3-buy as much of your food as possible at the farmer's market
4-use a food coop to buy large quantities of things like grains
5-for the rest of what you buy, look for products with the fewest ingredients and least processing(the more ingredients, the more things had to be shipped to the factory just to make the product)Example: if you have the choice between a box of cereal and a tub of oatmeal, the oatmeal has the least ingredients and least processing
6-Find local sources (farmers) for beef, chicken, pork, eggs, etc.

Maybe your family isn't ready to embark on the same journey that Barbara and her family did. Mine isn't. But we are committed to making changes, small changes over time that we can stick with. I hope you will think about what changes your family can implement.

Animal, Vegetable Miracle Thoughts: Bacteria and Dirt

Bacteria. Yuck, right? Make you sick, right? Except for the good ones. Strains that can be helpful. But have you ever noticed? We don't call them that. Bacteria, I mean. We call them cultures, or probiotics, or whatever else, just not bacteria. Somehow I don't think Activia would sell quite as much if they used "Good ole bacteria in every bite" as their slogan. And what about those commercials showing all the bacteria in your mouth. Better get yourself some good toothpaste to kill them off.

Dirt. Yuck. Nobody wants that in their house. Get it out. Out! And certainly don't get it on your clothes or put your hands in it. What? Food comes out of that? Certainly we can't eat that. It's DIRTY! Better buy your food from the grocery store where they sell clean food.

:) Just saying, we have some conceptions in our culture that we are going to have to change if we are going to eat locally and healthfully. If we are going to get a new generation of youth interested in gardening and where their foods comes from, we are going to have to get over the yuckiness of digging in the dirt. Especially if their parents aren't introducing them to those experiences at home. We are going to have to recognize the interconnectedness and balance of each organism in our environment, even bacteria and dirt.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle Thoughts: Kids in the Garden

So, if we will be forced to change how and where we get our food as the amount of fossil fuels we had dwindles, that means my life, but even more so my daughters' lives will be affected by this. They will have to eat differently. Which makes me think: How will we help them do this? What knowledge will we share with them? They will need knowledge about agriculture. About how things grow and how they can grow them. They are not (in the current system) going to get that in school.

Carla Madigan writes, in the book The Backyard Homestead, about this lifestyle being "...a way to pass along to your own children skills for self-sufficiency and to create in their minds the memory of time spent doing something practical and fun with the people they love. It's amazing to me that I can still remember so much of my food life from when I was a child. Something from those days must have stuck with me, because I've become a person who gardens, forages, bakes, makes cheese, and puts up fruits and vegetables, much like my parents did."

Yes, that is the hope that I have for my daughters. That they would have positive memories of times shared as a family and skills they can use in the future. That they would also see value in resourcefulness, frugality, the flavors of homemade food, and being good stewards of this Earth.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle Thoughts: The Future of Food

After listening to the audio book of Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, there are a lot of thoughts floating around in my head. These next few blog entries will be an attempt to organize those thoughts and hopefully, urge you to think too. :)

In her book, Barbara talks about how farmers are barely making a living while the rest of us play make believe about the important part being the grocery store. For us, that's the focus, isn't it? Going to the store to pick up food. Rarely stopping to ask where it comes from or how it is grown. In grocery store sales, so little goes to the farmer who actually grew the food, making it almost impossible for farmers to make ends meet, and turning over the responsibility of growing our food to ever larger companies. Companies who have little connection with the land that they work and no relationship to the community where the food is sold. Is that where I want my money to go?

My kids are growing up in a generation that is the first that statistically will have a shorter life expectancy than their parents and in a time where the government advocates that kids eat fruit and vegetables while giving subsidies to commodity crops that get turned into junk (aka high fructose corn syrup).

Everyday we use millions of barrels of fossil fuel to ship food from halfway across the country. We are going to run out of them eventually, depending on fossil fuels to get our food is not something we will we able to continue to do. Produce from Texas and California will someday be a thing of the past.

So we start thinking of doing things different, which usually in our minds equals what we will have to give up(soda, processed food, etc). This book gives new perspective to eating locally. What I can't eat...No, eating is about comfort, nourishment, and delicious smells. We should enjoy it. But restraint=indulgence. When we wait for the season, we taste things that are the freshest and at the peak of their flavor. We shouldn't settle for tastless tomatoes in December, but change our meal plans to accomodate what's in season, and learn to store things to have them out of season. Also, when we eat things that are homemade instead of processed and shipped, we enjoy a superior product!

Additionally, the varieties of fruits and vegetables companies pick, are usually just a few varieties chosen because they look nice on shelves, keep a long time, or transport easily. But relying on just a few varieties makes us more suseptable to pests, disease, and famine. Variety is mother nature's way of ensuring the survival of a species. Using just one variety goes against the evolutionary change necessary for survival.

So, will we allow companies to control the quality of the product we receive? Will we allow them to be in control of the seeds? Will we start to make changes in our food system now, or wait until fossil fuels run out and we are forced to make them? I, for one, will not.

Recycling

This is one thing I WON'T be recycling.

Environmental Working Group

Check out this website: http://www.ewg.org/ Environmental Working Group has a lot of great information about health and the environment. I read this site periodically and always find something interesting!

Cuesta

Today's post is called "Cuesta." I have been thinking about this topic ever since La Gringa posted on her blog (http://lagringasblogicito.blogspot.com/) on Dec. 15, 2008 about customs and culture. She was talking about culture and customs in Honduras, and how a country's customs aren't always beneficial. She talked about how some people resist change because as they say "Cuesta," which in Spanish (in this context)means it costs me something, that it takes a certain amount of effort or time to do things different.

Well, I have been thinking about that phrase in reference to habits and ways of thinking in the United States. Our current way of living in this country is harming the planet we live on. It is so important for us all to make some changes to preserve and care for what we have. But the majority of us in this country aren't making very many changes...why? I think first of all, many people aren't thinking about the consequences of their lifestyle, they are just living in the now. Also, I think we have become so accustomed to doing what we like, or what's convenient.

Time for a few examples. How many times have you watched a commercial, and thought, "Wow, that product would make my life easier!" or "That's a cool, new product. I should buy that." How often do you think, "Do I need this?" or "I wonder what the impact of using that will have on the environment." Another example is that of using cloth diapers. I think some people don't use them because they think it's going to be a hassle to have to wash them. Or what about using cloth napkins, or real towels instead of paper towels. We go for what's convenient instead of doing that extra load of laundry. Recycling is another example. I know people who say they are not going to take the extra effort unless the city is going to pay them.

Well, I would like to present a new way of looking at this. "Cuesta!" Yes, living in a more sustainable way does cost us something...more time, effort, etc. But maybe that's because it's worth something. Because it has value. Doesn't everything good cost something? Also, doesn't not doing anything cost us MORE? What will the consequences of our lifestyle be? What consequences will the pollution have on our health? Where will all that trash go? What will happen to the world's resources if we keep consuming as we are? Doesn't our health and the living conditions of our children and their children have a value?

Maybe instead of asking ourselves "What will make my life easier?" we should ask "What is the right thing to do?"

Green Cleaners

All Purpose Spray
Spray 1: Mix 2 1/2 tsp borax, dab of liquid soap, and 2 cups hot water. Mix and shake in a spray bottle for use on counters, etc.
*Add a couple drops of tea tree oil or lavender essential oil. It will add a nice fragrance to your mix, and adds the benefit of being a natural disinfectant/fungicide. Warning: a little goes a long way, just put a few drops (like 1-5?).
Mine is in a spray bottle under my sink for easy cleaning anytime. This spray will leave you cents ($) and scents all around your house. Don't using it just make sense?
Spray 2: Mix 2 cups water with 1/8 cup white vinegar

Furniture Polish
Shake 1/2 tsp olive oil (or jojoba oil) in a jar with 1/4 c fresh lemon juice (or vinegar). You can add more oil if the wood is dry.

Window Spray
Mix 1/2 tsp liquid detergent, 3T white vinegar, and 2 c water

Mold spray
Pour undiluted white vinegar into spray bottle and spray on moldy area, do not rinse

Other tips:
*Write the recipe on the bottle with permanent marker so you don't have to look it up every time.
*These recipes may be non-toxic(don't have toxic chemicals), but shouldn't be ingested. Keep away from pets or children.

It's Not Easy Being Green

Today I want to post about where I am on my path to becoming a greener me. Here's my list:

- CFL's - Have you replaced your lights yet?
-Recycling - I am recycling as much as the city will let me. Hopefully, they'll continue to add more to the list of what is accepted.
- Buy Used - I try to buy second-hand stuff instead of new.
- Don't Buy - Even better than buying used is not buying at all. I always try to ask myself befrore I buy something, "Do I REALLY need this?"
- Cloth Bags - Use cloth bags when you buy.
- Cloth diapers - Really soooo easy. I really don't understand why more people don't use them. It's a rather small investment (of money and time) and it's soooooo much better for the environment and baby's bum.
- Buy organic - As much as possible I buy organic foods, though I don't buy organic meats(I get all-natural). This is not only better for your family (less chemicals), but it invests in a system that is protecting the environment.
- Buy local - As much as I can, I buy from local farmers. I walk to the Farmers' Market in the warmer months. I have bought meat locally as well, but you really need a big freezer to do this, and for now, we do not.
- Reusable products - No more paper plates at our house. To eat we use only glass plates, cups, and our silverware. It's not hard to start the dishwasher a little more often.
- Cloth napkins - Yes, they are stained, but that's because we use them! I would like to get some darker colored ones too because I don't usually use bleach. Maybe I'll find some this summer at a garage sale.
- Towels - I do have one roll of paper towels stashed away, but I can't remember the last time we used one.
- Green cleaners - I will have to post the recipes here. So much cheaper than store bought, and much better for the environment.
- Reusable water bottle and home water filter - No bottled water here. No plastic water bottles either (they leach chemicals that are not good for you).
- Low maintenence, chemical free lawn care - Ok, so I don't have much of a lawn, but even if I did, I would plan the space to make it a practical, usable space that doesn't need a lot of upkeep.
- Eco-friendly clothes detergent - We use Charlie's Soap.
- Think small - smaller house, smaller car, etc. We currently live in a small, probably 700-800sq. ft. place. It's a good way to conserve on utilities, and leave a smaller carbon-footprint.

Did I forget something? Probably. I'll just add it on later, I guess.

Though it's not easy being green, it's important. We might not see the damage we are doing yet, but all too soon we will, and I hope it's not too late! Is there something on this list you could try?

The Story of Stuff

Have you been to the website http://www.storyofstuff.com/? If you have not seen this video, you should. It's only 20 minutes, and the information in it is of critical importance.

Here is my summary and commentary about this clip:
It examines the process of making, buying, and disposing of stuff. The first problem with the current system is that we are using way too much stuff! Did you know that in the last 3 decades we have used 1/3 of our Earth's resources. GONE! The second problem is that we (in the U.S.) are using more far more of the resources. We are 5% of the world's population using 30% of the world's resources. We are taking more than our fair share. Here is what this tells me: we are saying with our lifestyle that we have more value than others, and that we have more of a right to the stuff than others. We say this indirectly by just taking what doesn't belong to us. Sadly, those that don't consume in this system, don't have a say in it, and are being taken advantage of. This system, in which we partake, creates poverty. Other people are paying for the things we buy...How? When we buy a product, the price we pay for it could not possibly pay for the raw materials, the extraction/creation of those materials, a fair living wage for those working to produce it, their healthcare, the production and distribution of the product, the salary of those working in the store to sell it, etc. So, others pay with their resources, environment, working condition, wages, and so on.

Later, she talks about the number of synthetic chemicals involved in the production of the things we buy. There are thousands of synthetic chemicals being used today, and only hundreds of them have been tested. How is this affecting our bodies and environment without us even knowing? For example, flame retardants - they are neurotoxins (they affect our brain), yet manufacturers douse pillows in them and we sleep on them 8 hours a night, so our heads don't start on fire when we are sleeping...who thought of that?! Flame retardants are in everything from sofas to childrens' pajamas. With all the technology and intellect in this country, we can't find a better way? Unfortunately, the ones paying the price for this are babies, who are receiving higher levels than ever of toxic chemicals through breastmilk. Shouldn't we protect them from toxic chemicals?

We have too much stuff! We have twice as much stuff as people 50 years ago. And, of all the stuff we buy, 99% of it is trashed within 6 months. We shop 3-4 times more than people in Europe. This produces a lot of trash! Recycling does help to reduce that, but did you know that for every pound of trash we produce in our household, there were 70 more pounds involved in the production of the stuff we throw out?

This system does not work! It is not responsible, moral, just, or sustainable to continue as we are. Fortunately, there are other ways. I know the tempation is to hear information like this, feel bad, but then go on living the way we have been. Why? Because we don't feel the effects in our daily lives, and well it's just easier to go with the flow of what everyone else is doing, and of course, it is convenient. Also, change is difficult, especially if that change costs us something. BUT, what if we don't change? How does that affect us, our children, the environment, and others, our "neighbors" on this planet? We MUST change. I MUST change. I need to make changes in my lifestyle, and I hope you will join me. I will discuss things we can do in my blog in the following days. We can change and those changes do make a difference!