Who Cares What We Eat?

We are assailed daily with exhortations to get fitter, lose weight, watch our blood pressure/blood sugar/cholesterol. The experts tell us that “we are what we eat”; that the average diet is shocking; etc., etc. It’s enough to drive you to drink, isn’t it? But one group who might be on the right track are those who advise us to eat and drink organic food. They used to be considered cranks and scaremongers, but, latterly, there is a growing awareness that their warnings might have truth in them. Do you really know what you are eating? Are there traces of antibiotics in your meat? As most commercially reared animals are given small doses of antibiotics every week, this is likely to get into the meat, and then into you, isn’t it? Do you know where the meat came from or how it was reared? How many times has your apple been sprayed – and with what? According to a DEFRA report (www.defra.gov.uk/farm/acu/research/reports/nf0422.pdf.) fruit produced in the UK may be sprayed with up to five different chemicals during growth, most of which go into the body of the fruit. As yet no-one knows what the long-term outcome will be of eating this cocktail of chemicals regularly. Which chemicals have the vegetables taken up from the soil they grew in? Do you know? If you care about what you eat, (and who doesn’t) then you need to be able to find answers to those and many other similar questions. Otherwise our bodies may be storing a mixture of chemicals over the years and we wont know, until it is too late. So if you care, you must choose only to eat food which guarantees to be pesticide, herbicide, fungicide and antibiotic free. In other words - organic food. But that is so much more expensive, isn’t it? Yes it can be. Certainly compared to the commercially produced food, which in most cases is subsidised one way or another. Not everyone has the means to pay more for their food in these cash-strapped times. The answer? Grow It Yourself. Oh yes you can! organic foodis here to help you. It’s not rocket science, but it does take effort, time and thought. It will not happen by itself, but anyone, with any sort of space, can produce edible, safe and very tasty crops. You may not be self-sufficient in fresh food, but you can make a start towards healthy eating immediately. Then you will know what you are eating, where it came from and exactly what has gone into it as it grew. As you produce more for your table, you will save money (so now you will be able to afford the organically produced meat); you will save yourselves from future health problems; you will enjoy truly good food (you will not believe the difference in taste!); and, incidentally, you will be doing your bit for he planet – and every little helps. We must care what we eat and do something about it, now. To get yourself going, check out organic food right now and change your eating habits to organic food.

Posted in Family on Sunday 12th of October 2008 04:00:22 PM