Does this hamburger look good to you? It's from an advertisement (I think) for a thick, juicy hamburger. Now I've not eaten one of these for almost forty years now, being a semi-vegetarian since then. For years I didn't eat red meat but chicken, turkey and fish, and then I learned how poultry is treated and processed and stopped eating chicken, staying with fish and sometimes turkey. Now I only eat turkey on holidays, and fish I try to eat once or twice a week, for my heart health.But this hamburger just doesn't look good to me any more. I don't eat white bread, either, so this bun also doesn't look like food. Whole grain bread made at my local bakery is about all I eat these days. I just signed up to do the 30-day throw-down over at Robynn's Ravings because I guess I feel pretty much like it would be an easy thing for me to do: eat no fast food, only healthy, energizing, "real" food for 30 days. This hamburger would probably be verboten, if I usually ate such things.
In just one morning, I have found myself wondering about the latte I drink without thinking about it: where did the ingredients come from? Does coffee count as "real" food? Oh my! What have I gotten myself into? Looking at what I eat, thinking about what goes into my body should be an interesting exercise.
Since I don't go to McDonald's or Taco Bell, I thought it would be easy, but already I'm wondering what is really good, nutritious food? Ice cream? (probably not) Cream cheese from Wisconsin? And it must be good for the planet if it's good for me... right? Hmmm. More later.
:-]
I understand your concern about the food you eat, but one of the major problems nowadays is water, whether bottled or not. There are so many drugs, like drugs for heart disease, diabetes or birth controls that pass through people then get in the water. In addition there are traces of pesticide and industrial chemical in tap water too. Bottled water is not that good either because most come in plastic bottles – you don’t know how long they have been under light and they are often made with PVC which is an environment hazard. And I am not talking about the air we breathe. I read an article that showed that kids in rich subdivisions in Texas (away from a large town) had more breathing problems because most of the people there drove SUVs and minivans which emit high level of particle and ozone pollution. So, at the end, it’s quite difficult to decide what to do. Also, sometimes when you travel to small towns, like in South Georgia, if you don’t eat at fast food places, you don’t eat. Now about turkeys – I don’t know if you get yours from a farm, but the production of turkey has increased 300% since the 70s and the runoff from turkey farms contributes to high levels of nitrogen, bacteria, etc in the drinking water. It also creates air pollution because of the cloud of dust, manure solids, dander, feather, etc.., and since the smell of manure and refuse is so offensive the farmers spread all this on vast areas of land, compromising the water and air quality and devaluing land property. Then the turkeys need to travel to domestic or international markets, and that uses fossil fuel too. My husband’s career was in the environment so we talked about all this often. I don’t think it’s going to get better soon because of the exploding world population.
ReplyDeleteOkay. I want to do it too! I've really really wanted to be a vegan for years...I start and then fall off the wagon! I'm going over to Robyn's place!
ReplyDeleteI lost my taste for turkey after watching Sarah Palin laugh and joke as that turkey farmer beheaded the turkeys. Poor things.
ReplyDeleteI'm heading veggie - only eat grass-fed beef (once a week for my husband), rocky the range chicken, and fish. My husband has to have a low carbohydrate diet, and he craves protein. But now they say we are killing the oceans by eating the big fish like tuna, snapper, halibut, leaving algea to kill the oceans.
I go check out Robynn's Ravings.
Wow, that is some comment, VB! I get my turkey from the local Community Food Co-op, and I believe it's local, but after what I read here, I think I'll skip it too. Now about the water: I do have to drink it, I filter (Brita) the tap water, which I don't think filters out all the bad stuff you mentioned, but I don't know that for sure. Bellingham is one of the top ten cities in the country for clean air, because our air mostly comes across the ocean for a long ways.
ReplyDeleteBut our planet is finite, and nothing that affects one of us can be seen as not affecting all of us.
I do eat a lot of tofu that comes from WestSoy and I wonder about that. Is it a good food or is it also suspect?
You raise a lot of questions but now I'm going to have to do some research to figure out the best practice for all of these things...
DJan,
ReplyDeleteI thought I was doing pretty good with using lots of fresh fruits and veggies and very little meat but after reading your post and the comments I'm not so sure.
I will be interested to see what everyone comes up with and I will also be doing lots of research. Coffee? You really got me thinking about that one.
Judy
DJ,
ReplyDeleteI have mentioned in one of your blogs that we should stay away from fast food chains, they are really no good, do we know how many times they have used the cooking oil for the fries? Bottled waters are not even safe, here in the Philippines they have busted a firm making fake bottled water, they say that it's mineral water but the truth, they are only tap water the one coming out from the faucet...well not still sure about it. Coffee...we have using only one brand NESCAFE and since they reformulated the coffee it didn't taste the same, it tasted like burnt peanuts or I don't know, it's just taste different now so we switched to another brand. KFC...I have heard a lot of stories about KFChicken(here in the Philippines) I won't mention it anymore ewww it gross! We buy organic products at present we cooked it so we are pretty sure, we are eating safe food. I hope.
AL
I eat healthy in moderation and not so healthy in moderation. And the junk is only a rare indulgence. I have to always leave some room for improvement, right?
ReplyDeleteI will eat almost anything that is edible with the exception of veal. I don't eat that because I object to the way the little calves are kept in crates and fed only milk or whatever to keep the meat white. uGH, how can humans be so cruel!!!
ReplyDeleteFor ten years I kept my own chickens because I object to battery farming. The hens were pampered and ate the same as we did, except for chicken, of course. They loved corn and rice and bacon bits.
I always say I would be the last one to starve on a desert island!!
Oh and a warning, there's a lelluva lot of calories in a latte.
Blessings, Star
I give you credit..I just couldn't do it.
ReplyDeleteI would like to try to be a vegetarian, but the moment I pass a steak on a grill or smell bacon frying I would be DONE!!!!