Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Oh where oh were is the good food?

Like I mentioned in my previous post in this entry I'll go into further depth about each of the places I shop, my grocery list, how much the typical cost is of common items.


I'm going to plug LocalHarvest and subscribing to a CSA again - since this is a great way to get to support your local farmers and learn to prepare some things that you might not possibly ever get to try.
http://www.localharvest.org/newsletter/20100128/


I have a couple of stories to share first...so today's entry will be about my recent observations - and if I get time tomorrow I'll delve into shopping details....


The first one comes from my brother - he lives in Atlanta, GA. He was with his girlfriend's friend, she brought tarts from Whole Foods over to dinner. Granted they were yummy, but she tried to say they were "good" - in the sense of what? Good for the planet? Good for our bodies? Well - my brother went on to explain how he "popped" the "good" bubble by stating that - 1. Strawberries, Kiwi and Grapes were not possibly local, 2. They weren't even from Florida since the weather has really caused trouble for the crops 3. The tart itself is probably not a "whole food" since it has refined flours and sugars in it. Wow. I'll leave it there. Something to ponder next time we buy from the prepared foods counter.


The second comes from my own grocery experience. Yesterday I had the pleasure of going to one of the "big guys" - Ralphs to be exact - it is our version of Kroger. I have to go there - otherwise I wouldn't, and I typically have 20 minutes of time so I browse around.


This time I found about 10% more organic and gluten free stuff than before. this was kinda cool - my kids love these gluten free pretzels and I couldn't find them anywhere - they were right there at Ralphs - amazing. They also carry coconut ice cream - and since I have dairy issues - this is a grand thing. They also have the mouthwash I like that is sort of hard to find...typically only available at the "natural" stores. Plus Organic dairy free milk substitutes are always nice to see, but the additives make me suspicious. 


Alas, that is where it ends. the organic section is still about 5% of the produce area...okay maybe less - 1% - and everything looks tired. How sad, be cause the organic produce at the farmers market looks fabulous...why can't they do this? There were some other SHOCKERS in the produce department of course, produce from the parts of the world that are experiencing summer. Thinking about the transportation costs, whether or not any of it is fair trade, and when it was picked, how it was processed - enough to make one dizzy!


And the meat and seafood was depressing of course. A little soap-box here - we should care where our meat comes from, we should have reverence for the meat, this is an animal who gave its life for our sustenance - we need to respect life enough to care about our food's life-cycle. Salmon - farmed - or wild caught with color added - WHY??? 


As a family we're making a concerted effort to have more respect for the food chain. As a society we should really think about the big picture and stop wanting so much instant gratification. perhaps we need to slow down and spend more time as a family - one day - one hour - be together - without our "busy' nature.

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