How did we get Started? That's a good question...

It just evolved, somehow, that I became the cook for my family of four, and I've learned to embrace that fact. While we have always enjoyed cooking and putting meals together (as a family), frequently by the end of the day we were sprinting to get dinner on the table and any thought towards where the food came from was the last thing we considered. This past year, however, has been a bit of an eye opener. Maybe I dug too deep and pondered it all too much. Whatever it was, we decided (as a family) to consider food more thoughtfully beginning with being more kind to animals.

We share this world with nearly 7 billion other people and trying to feed everyone has caused the scale of manufactured food and industrial/corporate agriculture to explode! In general the "food" that is made available to the masses hardly even resembles real food. Nutritional value no longer exists making the "Nutrition Facts" found on most labels a joke. And don't get me started on what all this is doing to our one and only planet Earth. The cattle, pig, and poultry industries alone are at least as dirty as the oil industry that threatens the life of our oceans...and very likely causes as much if not more environmental harm. Pollution has been big on our minds since the 1970's. I always thought of factories belching smoke and garbage being dumped in the sea. I NEVER imagined that agriculture and farms could do so much damage to our planet. The sad thing is that the picturesque "farms" portrayed on so many labels have been squashed into extinction by corporate giants. But there are actually quite few that have escaped and that gently and thoughtfully grow wonderfully nutritious produce and raise cows, sheep, goats, pigs, chickens, etc. in an almost pet-like environment. We just have to seek them out. Look for locally grown organic products and you'll be surprised how much is out there. Our family is still pondering the path of vegetarianism, veganism (is that a word?), and the raw food movement. At the moment we are happy to eat more vegies, buy locally organic, and not contribute to the senseless torture and slaughter of animals.

I don't know what the answer is. I mean, how do we go about feeding 7 billion people in a sustainable way? That's a lot of groceries. It's a bit overwhelming to consider the entire scope of the problem but maybe we can make a small change in our little corner of the beach. Baby steps. We can all start with our own families and hopefully our children will learn new, healthier, and kinder habits.

We're here to start a food fight...of sorts ; )     

Join us.

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