You’re eating engineered food, but you don’t know it

             Experimental food. Food that has been engineered to produce its own pesticides. Food that isn’t labeled as containing genetically engineered ingredients and, since it’s a new thing, we humans have no idea what the long term effects on our own health will be. Welcome to the 21^st century food supply!

 I’ve known about and tried to avoid GMO’s (Genetically Modified Organisms) for years, but lately have done some more reading and gotten riled up all over again because of how prevalent these ingredients are in our broken food chain.

In a statement from the Center for Food Safety, most Americans say they wouldn’t eat food containing GMO’s if it was labeled. But neither the US or Canada, unlike most industrialized countries, require foods containing GMO’s to be labeled at all. That’s messed up. We have a right to know what we’re consuming. And if you’re buying and consuming commercial brands of cereal, conventional milk, factory farmed meat, soy, and on and on, you’re consuming genetically engineered food.

One of the biggest biotech conglomerates engineering these genetically modified crops and seeds is the one that makes toxic Round-Up. This is what the agribusiness is now—huge conglomerates making chemicals and supplying engineered crops to the masses.

This is what I hate about food shopping. I have to examine every freaking ingredient label for what I want to avoid. High Fructose Corn Syrup? That’s GMO corn. Nope. Milk containing rBST or rBGH? That’s genetically engineered hormones to make cows produce more milk. Nope. Factory farmed meat? Those animals have been fattened with GMO corn, which is most certainly not their natural diet. Nope.

I’m losing my appetite just thinking about grocery shopping.

Here are the ‘Big Four’ common GMO ingredients to avoid: Corn, Soy, Canola, and Cottonseed oil. Be aware and concerned about our food supply.

For more info, check out:

Organicconsumers.org—Links to articles and calls to action

Truefoodnow.org—A Shopper’s Guide—great reference for brands to look for and brands to avoid.

Millionsagainstmonsanto.org

Committing to eating healthier in 2012

With 2012 and New Year’s resolutions looming on the horizon, I thought I’d briefly cover a topic I get asked a lot by those who know I’m pretty health and environmentally conscious: what do you eat?

             Basically, I strive to eat real food—food that’s as close to its natural state as possible. I’m not a vegetarian, I do eat meat occasionally and I try to eat local meat when I do. I eat real butter and have whole milk on my cereal. I use half & half in my coffee (which I’m always trying to cut back on). I buy organic fruits and vegetables whenever possible. I cook beans a lot and use them in recipes for protein and other nutrients. I try to buy local eggs when I can.

            We’re lucky here in this area to have a grocery bin delivery company called Green B.E.A.N delivery. They deliver bins of fruit and vegetables—many are organic and local when possible. They have lots of local items you can select from the menu, and it comes right to your door.

            One thing I hear a lot is that it’s expensive to eat natural, whole foods. Yes, you’ll pay more for your food generally. My philosophy is to pay more for better food and eat less of it.

I drink mostly water. Soda and most fruit juices are pure empty calories with food dyes and tons of sugar. Diet soda—though calorie free—is probably also one of the worst as far as negative effects it has on the body. I do have a sweet tooth and love almost anything sweet. I have a sip of soda a couple times a year and eat cookies and ice cream more than I should (I’m committing to reducing my sugar intake in the new year).

I don’t love to cook, which is kind of a bummer, but I try to cook extra when I do so it’s less work overall (there’s another resolution—stock the freezer with extra meals).  Here’s a lentil soup recipe that I’ve adapted and can cook up quickly: One bag lentils, rinsed and drained, one can spaghetti sauce, one chopped onion, 4 -5 carrots, peeled and sliced. Add ingredients to pan along with 1-2 cups water and cook till lentils and carrots are tender. Season with salt and pepper. Add more water if soup is too thick. Enjoy!

Plastic Bags (and polystyrene) can stuff it, part two

I’ve written about these two topics before but it’s been awhile and it’s worth repeating. And I’m a recycler, including topics.

            Plastic bags and polystyrene, the stuff of plates, fast food cups and packing peanuts, makes me cringe.   

            At a recent dinner, I ranted a little about how much we consume and how I get tired sometimes about stressing over each of my actions. I wonder if it even matters that I spend time and energy putting my words and hopes out here for a healthier, conscious world.

            Someone wisely said, ‘it may not always be easy, but it should be simple.’ We should be proactive about reducing consumption, like those insidious plastic bags at stores that are pushed at every turn. Bring your own bags. Make it a habit. It’s simple.

‘But dangit,’ I said, ‘stores also need to train their employees to use less plastic.’ Last week, in a store that kind of rhymes with ‘Margret’, I saw a cashier place one (foam) carton of eggs in a plastic bag and hand it to the customer ahead of me. Why did those eggs need their own bag?

            In a store that rhymes with ‘plier,’ I was buying two half gallons of ice cream for a birthday last year and I handed the cashier my cloth bag, who then put each carton in its own plastic bag and into my cloth bag before I could speak up. More unnecessary plastic in my hands.

            Last week, not wanting to cook, I ordered takeout for the family from a favorite independent restaurant downtown. The food was phenomenal, but opening up the EIGHT foam containers wasn’t. I felt so guilty.

            My life would be easier if stuff was streamlined and compact, not bundled loosely in bags and foam that are terrible for the earth and that I have to deal with. Because you know that I’m going to store all this…stuff…in my basement and garage until I can take it to the only place in Indy where it will actually be recycled. Most recycling services, including the one servicing Noblesville, can’t take polystyrene.

            Most recently my friend Stacy said I’d be proud of her. Her recycling bin was stuffed and when she peered into her garbage bin and saw it had one small bag of garbage, she thought of me. Aww!

            Recycle on!

Paying It Forward at Christmas

            I was talking with my family last week about a cool idea I read on a blog—a ‘paying it forward’ sort of thing. The idea is to either decide on acts of kindness to do each day for a couple weeks leading up to Christmas, or to let a situation present itself each day, and to follow through to show another human being extra kindness in this season.

            Sometimes I struggle with feeling ‘Grinchy’ during the holidays. I want the holidays to be meaningful, but what does that mean and how do I do it? I often become  too focused on my wants, my agenda, my to-do list, the next place I have to be, and on and on. I feel overwhelmed and unable to enjoy the season. I want my kids to experience the joy of giving to others, but I have to set that example. How do I even start?

            The premise is simple. Seek out ways to give freely to others, often strangers, this holiday season.  One of the ideas I read was to buy a gift card to the store that you’re in when you check out—it can be just $5—and then either give it to someone as you’re leaving the store or stick it under someone’s windshield wiper.

How cool would that be? What about this—pay for the person behind you in the coffee shop line. Tip the barista extra big. Spend time with an elderly neighbor who craves company. Bake cookies and leave them on someone’s doorstep with a note. Handwrite a note to someone who meant a lot to you growing up and tell them.

      Teach a child something you wish someone had taught you (or did teach you) when you were a kid.  Donate stuff you don’t want or need to a local charity. Donate food to a food pantry. Shovel your neighbor’s sidewalk after a snow.  Babysit for a single mom or dad. Hide quarters in a vending machine change slot. Compliment people freely. Wish the driver who cut you off well. Let go of a grudge.

            I’m on a roll but also out of space. We plan to brainstorm ideas and make a list. Getting stuff isn’t just what a good life is made of, it’s being good to each other however we can.  Merry Christmas!

             

Hippies hoop with fire

I just have to share—I got to do something last weekend that I thought was pretty sweet—hoop with fire.  You may be thinking, ‘Hooping? Fire? What?’

            Even though it’s becoming more well-known, hooping, or hoopdance, is still pretty obscure.  I hear over and over again adults saying that ‘they can’t hoop’ and thinking it’s only for kids. Nope! I love to coax people into trying it, and I love it when they get hooked, or at least have a dang good time for those few minutes.

            So I’ve been hooping for a few years now, and looking back I can see how much it’s stretched me and how much I’ve progressed, and how many people I’ve met through it. It’s been a wild ride.

            And last Saturday night it got a whole lot wilder.

            I’ve been wanting to fire hoop almost since I started hooping. I let people know that I would firehoop someday and I was patient, knowing it would happen. Finally, it did. My friend Rebecca, queen-of-all-things-circus was up in Indy for the weekend and arranged to teach a fire safety workshop and take us would-be-fire-hoopers on the fire hooping ride with her.

            We were nervous and a little jittery, not really knowing what to expect other than we’d be spinning a flaming hoop around our bodies. ‘What if we catch on fire?’ was a thought that ran through our minds more than once.

            Before we knew it, we were intentionally catching ourselves on fire. Rebecca had us swipe flames on ourselves and then put them out, to help take away the fear of being on fire and to see that if it happened, we could stay calm and take care of it.

            So, we jumped in and fire hooped. And it was amazing. We can’t stop talking about it, so there’s a good chance that there’ll be more fire hooping in the ‘ville.

            All this to say, whether it’s fire hooping in our case, or whatever you dream of, do whatever you can to make it happen. Life’s short, live it up!

            

Go local to lose the holiday loco

I’m not sure how it can be November already, and already everywhere I turn I see the glossy Christmas ads and hear about Black Friday.

            If you know anything about me, you can probably guess that I’m not a fan of Black Friday and in fact refuse to shop on that day. From my eco-friendly perspective, the extreme consume-consume-consume mentality that our culture fosters leaves in its wake a tremendous amount of waste.  After Christmas, garbage cans will overflow with wrapping, with boxes, with plastic shrinkwrap, and the discards that are ‘so last year.’       

            Will anyone be the happier for it? 

            There is also that ‘waste’ that is less obvious—the time spent driving to and from the stores, the gas used to get there, the time spent looking and in line, and likely a huge amount of money spent on things that aren’t wanted or needed.

            I don’t like a lot of stuff, and clutter makes me twitchy. However, I live in a house with five other people, so I have had to learn to deal somewhat. More ‘stuff’ to deal with = not fun for Mom. Last year we got our kids art lessons, along with a few clothes and a few toys and books.

It was a great balance. No one was overwhelmed by heaps of stuff, we paid cash all the way, and we supported local businesses.  And of course, I recycled all the packaging and wrapping (I use newspaper, kraft paper and aluminum foil. I also like to use cute fabric bags—even better!).

            This year I plan to do the same. It’s a conscious decision to turn away from the marketing, from the greedy culture that always wants the next big thing. I’ll shop the independent stores, eat at the independent restaurants, and support the local artisans. They are numerous here in and around our town, and as an independent artist myself I was so grateful that people bought gifts from me. I can’t think of a better way to spend my holiday dollars.

We are the grasshoppers

             I’ve had the nagging question in my mind for awhile now—just how essential is it that I do what I do? Why do I spend time and energy writing what I do? Why do I spend an hour playing in my hoop when I could/should be doing something ‘more productive’? When I’m driven to create, what does it even matter, really?

 I’ve lived in Noblesville for over a decade now, which in and of itself blows my mind. It was a fluke that we even landed here, lured by a real estate ad in the Indy Star one lazy Sunday. It was as though, in brief moment of perusing the ads we decided it was time to buy a house, and since the old house listing we ‘fell in love with’ was in Noblesville (wherever that was) we decided this was ‘it’ and fell in love with this town, too.

            I thought back to this after attending the recent launch party of Noblesville’s first literary journal, The Polk Street Review. My husband and I walked from our house to the party, which was held at our friends’ lovely home just a few blocks from ours. The wide, shallow front steps led to the inviting wraparound porch. The tables of libations beckoned me and I poured some wine and said hello to our Old Town friends gathered on the porch in the crisp, cool air.

            The rooms were full of chairs and people, the light was welcoming and I was aware of the satisfying click of my brown boots on the oak floors. Of course, I also noticed the table of delicious food and made that my second stop.

            I’m so glad to live in this town, and that night full of readings and creative energy and laughter is one of my best memories of living here. I’m always so inspired by the talented people here who create—not for glory or money or recognition but because they love to and they want and need to. The final reading of the night, The Ant and The Grasshopper, answered my nagging question.

            “Work is important. But play, and discussion, and love of non-essential things is also important. We are the grasshoppers and we are necessary. Long live the grasshopper!” (Introduction to The Polk Street Review)