My dilemma
I’m just finishing up reading The Omnivore’s Dilemma. It’s not very often that I read a book that really makes me want to make major changes in my life, but this one certainly has. Written by journalist Michael Pollan, it details how industrial farming and the market for processed food are fueled by two damaging forces: corn and oil. And he really makes a compelling case for eating “off the grid.”
Last night, I whipped up some grilled veggie quesadillas and a sweet corn salad, and as I was chewing on my industrially-grown produce, I felt unfulfilled. I tried to really taste the vegetable-y goodness, and was unimpressed. Why? Because those zucchini and peppers—out of season and bred for longevity over flavor—have been trucked thousands of miles from somewhere with a warmer climate. The solution to this dilemma? Start buying produce and dairy at my local farmer’s market.
And Pollan’s tales of the industrial cattle-feeding lots and slaughterhouses is enough to make you shudder. Such inefficiency—they feed cows corn because corn is cheap, but corn actually makes cows sick, so they pump them so full of drugs that their manure cannot even be used as fertilizer anymore. It’s so damaging to our health, the animals’ well-being, the earth… it’s really sad. The solution to this dilemma? Enroll in a metropolitan buying club and start getting my meat and eggs from this amazingly efficient local farm.
Allright! Dilemma solved! Well… I’m afraid, it’s not so easy. I’ve become very reliant on a handful of low-point processed foodstuffs. One thing that food-marketers have really tapped into is America’s need for high-fiber, low-fat, portion-controlled foods. It would take so much more effort for me to prepare a week’s worth of meals without: Fiber One cereal, Egg Beaters, VitaTops, Shady Brook Farms turkey sausage, Activia light yogurt, Sargento light cheese, Laura’s ground beef, Thomas light multigrain English muffins, Boca breakfast links… so much low-point commercially-produced deliciousness! And, while eating off-the-grid appeals to me so much right now, so does losing weight. I could find (or make) locally-grown equivalents of most of these foods, but I’m doubtful they’d be as point-friendly.
So, baby steps. There’s a good list of things I could easily swap out for their locally-grown equivalents—fruits, veggies, chicken, pork—and that may be where I have to stop for now. Maybe that totally off-the-grid existence will have to wait. Heck, maybe it can even be my reward! Once I’ve hit goal, I will have earned the right to eat whole eggs from locally-raised chickens. It sounds weird… but I could see it being a pretty effective motivator!