cited: Time Magazine

With farms popping up everywhere from White House backyards to Brooklyn truckbeds, it’s easy to write off the upswing of modern-day victory gardens and organic produce aisles as a meaningless trend. Unfortunately, it is becoming rapidly more important to look at how much it’s costing us to save money at the grocery store.

Somewhere in Iowa, a pig is being raised in a confined pen, packed in so tightly with other swine that their curly tails have been chopped off so they won’t bite one another. To prevent him from getting sick in such close quarters, he is dosed with antibiotics. The waste produced by the pig and his thousands of pen mates on the factory farm where they live goes into manure lagoons that blanket neighboring communities with air pollution and a stomach-churning stench. He’s fed on American corn that was grown with the help of government subsidies and millions of tons of chemical fertilizer. When the pig is slaughtered, at about 5 months of age, he’ll become sausage or bacon that will sell cheap, feeding an American addiction to meat that has contributed to an obesity epidemic currently afflicting more than two-thirds of the population. And when the rains come, the excess fertilizer that coaxed so much corn from the ground will be washed into the Mississippi River and down into the Gulf of Mexico, where it will help kill fish for miles and miles around. That’s the state of your bacon — circa 2009.

Horror stories about the food industry have long been with us — ever since 1906, when Upton Sinclair’s landmark novel The Jungle told some ugly truths about how America produces its meat. In the century that followed, things got much better, and in some ways much worse. The U.S. agricultural industry can now produce unlimited quantities of meat and grains at remarkably cheap prices. But it does so at a high cost to the environment, animals and humans. Those hidden prices are the creeping erosion of our fertile farmland, cages for egg-laying chickens so packed that the birds can’t even raise their wings and the scary rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria among farm animals. Add to the price tag the acceleration of global warming — our energy-intensive food system uses 19% of U.S. fossil fuels, more than any other sector of the economy.

And perhaps worst of all, our food is increasingly bad for us, even dangerous. A series of recalls involving contaminated foods this year — including an outbreak of salmonella from tainted peanuts that killed at least eight people and sickened 600 — has consumers rightly worried about the safety of their meals. A food system — from seed to 7‑Eleven — that generates cheap, filling food at the literal expense of healthier produce is also a principal cause of America’s obesity epidemic. At a time when the nation is close to a civil war over health-care reform, obesity adds $147 billion a year to our doctor bills. “The way we farm now is destructive of the soil, the environment and us,” says Doug Gurian-Sherman, a senior scientist with the food and environment program at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).

If you want to return to the simpler days of American farming, you’ll be interested in our charming, rustic signs- even wanted signs (who wouldn’t want to see more of those?). Perfect for lakehouses, gifts, anytime you want to escape modern stress.  Maybe someplace with beautiful brass bells.

Some Americans are heeding such warnings and working to transform the way the country eats — ranchers and farmers who are raising sustainable food in ways that don’t bankrupt the earth. Documentaries like the scathing Food Inc. and the work of investigative journalists like Eric Schlosser and Michael Pollan are reprising Sinclair’s work, awakening a sleeping public to the uncomfortable realities of how we eat. Change is also coming from the very top. First Lady Michelle Obama’s White House garden has so far yielded more than 225 lb. of organic produce — and tons of powerful symbolism. But hers is still a losing battle. Despite increasing public awareness, sustainable agriculture, while the fastest-growing sector of the food industry, remains a tiny enterprise: according to the most recent data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), less than 1% of American cropland is farmed organically. Sustainable food is also pricier than conventional food and harder to find. And while large companies like General Mills have opened organic divisions, purists worry that the very definition of sustainability will be co-opted as a result.

But we don’t have the luxury of philosophizing about food. With the exhaustion of the soil, the impact of global warming and the inevitably rising price of oil — which will affect everything from fertilizer to supermarket electricity bills — our industrial style of food production will end sooner or later. As the developing world grows richer, hundreds of millions of people will want to shift to the same calorie-heavy, protein-rich diet that has made Americans so unhealthy — demand for meat and poultry worldwide is set to rise 25% by 2015 — but the earth can no longer deliver. Unless Americans radically rethink the way they grow and consume food, they face a future of eroded farmland, hollowed-out countryside, scarier germs, higher health costs — and bland taste. Sustainable food has an élitist reputation, but each of us depends on the soil, animals and plants — and as every farmer knows, if you don’t take care of your land, it can’t take care of you.

So, feeling hungry? Maybe when you reach for your next snack, you’ll remember just how much the next bite will cost.

———————————————

My Take: We all knew something was up when meat started selling for pennies on the pound, even when gas skyrocketed. Bars give away pizza, wings, and hotdogs for buying a beer- something was fishy.

Maybe this means a return to a time when bread served as main food source instead of bacon. Yesterday, on the radio I heard a mother talking about baking her own bread to save money. Just goes to show that- even today- it is possible to eat good and cheap.

If you’re deciding between the two, please remember the piggies.

——-

Related Resources

Organic Beauty

While we worry about what cheap food does to our bodies, what are cheap cosmetics doing to our faces? Make your natural beauty shine with natural, organic skin care. Treat yourself right from the inside out- organic skincare is a must-have. No many how yummy they look, though, don’t go snacking!

Proper diet- don’t forget Exercise

Part of getting your body in its best condition is proper exercise. If you get your hands on pilates workout equipment, you could join the low-impact, high-result sensation that’s done wonders for so many. Our lovely ladies walk you through the routines, help you figure out a personalized regime, even offering entertaining pilates DVDs. You will be shocked at how much fun getting your dream body will be.

Save on Copiers

One place where it won’t hurt the earth (or your waistline) to save money is on used copy machines. Like a classic car that purrs, treat your office to a Cannon refurbished. Why pay more for the something that is, obviously, identical? Now, if you just use recycled paper- you’d be greener than a leprechaun.

Losing Weight

The human body is made up of different types of fat. The first fat is called structural fat that cushions and protects the organs in the body. The body also has a fat called, normal fat, which is the padding on our body such as the padding on the feet and hands. Then you have the abnormal fat, which is the excess fat on your body also known as the love handles, spare tires, bellies, backs, and saddlebags. The HCG diet provides a combination of a very low calorie diet and the exact levels of HCG it needs to stimulate the hypothalamus. When you take the HCG drops, the hypothalamus is able to reset and function properly.

Volunteer Working Vacation

One international organization run by former volunteers understands that you are donating your time and your money in order to volunteer abroad. That is why they offer one of the most comprehensive packages of services offered by a volunteer organization. They maintain operations in all volunteer destination countries, which gives them the able to significantly lower their administrative costs. There savings enable us to offer volunteer overseas projects at significantly reduced rates. The goal of our volunteer projects is to aid in initiate self-sustainable development so that these volunteer projects can continue to evolve without external influences.

Floss Your Teeth

To avoid visiting a Rockville Centre NY cosmetic dentistry office, you might want to loss after each meal or at least before bedtime. Flossing is the best way to clean the services between your teeth that the brush cannot reach. Use a piece of floss that is about 2 feet in length and wrapper around the tips of your middle fingers. Use your backs and thumb to move the floss in between all of your teeth one by one. Do your best not to cut into your gums. The goal is to clean the teeth surfaces and not harm the gums.

Nutrition Confusion

Many people often get confused when considering the use of sports nutrition supplements for the first time. There is a vast selection available and it is no wonder people get confused. Before actually rushing out to shop or searching for your nutrition supplements or specialty food, you need to at least have a basic understanding of the various types of products, how to incorporate them into your diet and what they actually do for you. Whether you wish to gain weight, in terms of lean muscle mass, or even shed a few extra pounds, the combination of an exercise or workout program with nutrition supplements can incorrect the promotion of a leaner body.

Healthcare Providers Declining

A landmark study entitled “To Err is Human,” was done eight years ago by the Institute of Medicine. It simply stated that the current healthcare system will not work because it is a reactive system designed for acute care. It needs to become a proactive system designed for chronic care and to become interdisciplinary. The Ocean County New Jersey house calls doctors are working to remedy this complex problem. A good part of the cause of the problem is the decline in the number of primary care physicians. These Ocean County New Jersey visiting physicians goal is to help with the increasing chronic care senior population.

Not a Fad Diet

These natural diet pills, Dietryn 500™, are not a bad or the latest Hollywood greats. They are in all natural weight loss diet pill based solely on pharmacological methodology and solid scientific research with results on real patients. Besides helping you to lose weight they also improve energy levels and research suggests that also improve mental sharpness and memory. The doctor who developed these weight loss products guarantees that you will lose weight and have more energy throughout the day. Dietryn 500™ was actually designed to improve overall health so you feel healthier. There are also no harmful chemicals or ingredients in Dietryn 500™.