Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

Winter finally came to Florida last week. Chef and I love winter in all of its desolate glory, and I for one was glad to return home to a normal temperature for the season. This week has been a lot of catching up after being gone, and to be honest I am feeling a little exhausted. The fact that I decided to cut caffeine totally out of my diet for the remainder of my pregnancy has only compounded my lack of energy.

Last night my Aunt Nan came over for a glass of wine. There are few better ways to relish exhaustion than with a glass of wine, and there are few things I enjoy more than sharing great conversation over vino. My aunt had recently seen the movie Food Inc. and was struck by the state of our food policy in this country. So much so that she actually watched it 3 times to garner as much info as possible.

Aunt Nan has been a vegetarian for as long as I can remember, and what really hit her was the GMO factor in all the soy she eats. Her husband, Uncle Geno, has been working in Pakistan for the past 3 years and she was on the phone with him explaining all the terrible information she had learned. He asked her a question that she didn't know the answer to..."Do they know what the effects of eating GMOs are on the human body?" She asked me this question last night, and I responded that it is all such relatively new technology that it is probably too soon to really tell what the cumulative effects will be.

That evening, after she left I was reading the Huffington Post online, which I do everyday periodically to stay updated on current events. On their Green page, as if it were destiny, was the article Monsanto's Corn Linked to Organ Failure in Rats. Turns out that three varieties of their genetically modified corn cause "hepatorenal toxicity" in rats, which means that most of the damage happens in the kidney and liver, the organs that our body relies on to detoxify our diet.

Just one more reason to buy organic and to stay away from processed foods in general. GMO corn is in practically every processed food on the market, even "organic" processed foods. Processed foods only have to be 95% organic, and it is usually the corn byproducts used in processed organics that don't make the cut.

It is the New Year...a good time to make new changes. Ask yourself, what is it worth to me? What things am I willing to spend more money on for better quality...shoes? jeans? hair products? Why not apply the same value to food, something that actually has a meaningful impact on not only your health therefore your life, but the environment as well. What is more important? Even if you can't afford to go all out organic, start somewhere...pick an item or two and make the switch incrementally..like milk and eggs, or meat and salad mix, just do what you can. Something is better than nothing.

After seeing Food Inc. my aunt now goes to the grocery store with a sense of righteousness. "I walk up to the cashier and slap down my organic foods casting my vote with my pocketbook." Right On Aunt Nan!


Way to put your money where your mouth is!