on food, inc.

okay, so i know i said i would write about each chapter of "everyday justice" as i read it, but i got lazy. i'm also finished with the book, so i think i'll just wait until i finish and then write about it collectively.

i watched this documentary the other day called food, inc. if you haven't watched it already, you definitely should. it opened my eyes to many things that i was unaware of about the food industry and generally made me feel guilty about my food choices and sad that i contribute to the growth of food injustices. the documentary talked to a few different farmers who work for large corporations like tyson and purdue (chicken). these companies pay their farmers VERY little to raise the chickens at their farms. the chickens are kept in deplorable conditions - dark, tunnel-like sheds where they are literally standing on top of each other. a lot of them can't even walk because their breasts are growing too fast for the rest of their bodies. hundreds of thousands of chickens live in these really crappy chicken houses, never seeing daylight. it's really quite disgusting. and this is all for the sake of big, cheap, and fast food for a consumer society. one farmer had her farm shut down by purdue because she refused to switch to the dark, tunnel chicken houses from the slightly more open-air version. i don't think i'm going to be buying any chicken from tyson or purdue.

the beef industry is just horrible, too. cows are raised in factory-like settings and forced to eat diets of corn, which fattens them up quicker. but corn is not what cows were made to eat. it has detrimental effects on the digestive system of the cow, causing them to release more methane gas into the air. EWW. cow farts that are harmful for the environment! the cows stand in their own manure all day. it's no wonder our meat often becomes contaminated. it's rare these days to find meat from cows that are grass-fed and allowed free range. the big companies producing most of the beef in the world are seeking to shut down the smaller scale farms which produce this grass-fed beef. now, i am a meat eater: hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, bacon, you name it. rarely do i think about where my meat is coming from. honestly, it's hard to know, especially when you're eating out. i've had friends tell me that i should be more conscious about this and i think i've finally realized that they are right.

i don't plan on becoming a vegetarian, but i want to make better food choices. i want to be a conscious consumer. i've decided to try to eat less meat. if i do eat meat, i should know where it's coming from. i want to support farms who raise grass-fed cows or free-range chickens. i realize that this decision is not going to be easy. sacrificing my favorite hamburger is really tough. but in order to care for creation, i need to make changes in my lifestyle. so here are a few of the things i plan on doing:

• buy more organic foods
• eat less meat (go one or two days a week w/o eating meat)
• cook from scratch more often
• go to farmer's markets
• plant a small garden
• be more conscious of where my food is coming from, how it's made, etc.

i'm learning more and more about sustainable living as i read "everyday justice" and watch documentaries like food, inc. we are stewards of God's creation. we are called to spread love in every aspect of our lives, including our food choices.

also, check out www.greenissexy.org for daily tips on how to live greener. the site is co-founded by one of my favorite actresses, Rachel McAdams. :)