I learned of Food Inc. while eating at Chipotle in NW Indiana, about a month or so before meeting Shane. There was an advertisement for a free screening in Chicago that evening, and a co-worker and I attempted to make it in time, but got stuck in the unexpected-to-an-inexperienced-Chicago-tourist evening rush hour on Lake Shore Drive and missed the show…
Fast forward to almost two years later: Shane and I were having one of our frequent moments-of-indecisiveness about what to do after dinner, so I began browsing Netflix for some mindless entertainment. Until I remembered that I’ve been meaning to watch Food Inc. since that missed screening!! And now, more than ever, we’ve become eager to educate ourselves in becoming sustainable in one yet another, and may I stress, our favorite part of life: eating!
Of course, food is not the only way in which we’d like to move toward a sustainable lifestyle. We’ve already begun researching ways to reduce our carbon footprint at home, we take public transportation when available and possible, we’re planning a wedding while trying to focus on sustainability, so it’s been leading to this for a while, but our biggest struggle was finding the resources to learn more about sustainability in our dieting habits. I would get overwhelmed (disclaimer: this won’t come as a surprise to anyone who knows me well, I am frequently overwhelmed when I have too many choices!) at the grocery store between all of the options that claimed to be better that XYZ Brand, but I really had no clue what to look for. I felt almost helpless!
I had no idea how to “do my research” to get informed about “good” brands and companies that fit our lifestyle changes and choices. I could go browse the company’s website, but who knows what sort of things they made up for PR purposes. And I could Google the company, but I worry that the bad reviews are from competitors and the good reviews are from the company’s staff. Basically, I was just leery, distrustful and generally skeptical of my identity-lacking Internet-acquaintances and their advice (although, Shane did share this site with me, I just have yet to make better use of it. He will post more about its uses later...)
So here I am, after having finally watched Food Inc., and I’m feeling like for the first time I have a starting block! The movie directed viewers to their page on Take Part website, and I started peeking around there a bit and discovering the “5 Things You Can Do Right Now”. Shane also decided to check out Joel Salatan’s farm website which was featured in the movie, and they give resources to find local, sustainable farms: http://www.localharvest.org/ and http://www.eatwild.com/ can help you discover farms located, or with delivery locations, in your area! Like any other lifestyle changes, it’s important for us to keep in mind that this is a process!
We are trying new things as we research and investigate, but we are making this transition slowly. Mostly because we’re learning as we go along. But also because we’re trying to be more strict about maintaining a budget, and we need to figure out the puzzle of balancing some of the more-expensive healthy options (ie organic milk, sustainably raised meats, etc) and the more-affordable items (I enjoy reading the (never home)makers tips for eating healthy on a budget.) We’re also trying to keep in mind that there are somethings with that lovely “organic” label on them that are either a bit misleading or are just not really necessary: specifically regarding “the dirty dozen” and the “clean fifteen.” (or go here for a pocket guide)
We would love any feedback that you can provide on the topic of “Sustainable Eating.” We’re interested in books, articles, magazines, websites, and really any resource that could be of assistance and educational value to our diets!
Additionally, I want to share that at this time we are both meat eaters, and although we are actively trying to cutting back on that product, we are not (currently) planning to remove meat from our diets. To all vegans and vegetarians out there, let me tell you that we fully respect and SUPPORT your decisions! I appreciate the efforts you’re making toward more ethical and sustainable choices, and we ask that you don’t hold our choices against us as we continue to learn more about our dietary decisions!!
We did try our hand at black bean burgers last night, and boy were they tasty! I think burgers are one area that we can commit to eating meat-less. I’ve also just started reading Eating Animals, I’m only a few pages in and it’s already hammering on my emotional/sensitive side... I guess we’ll see where the rest of the book takes me.
We're extremely excited about sustainable food now that we've been discovering more resources, and we are happy to be on this adventure, and we hope you’ll enjoy it with us! Even if only by means of moral support :)
Fast forward to almost two years later: Shane and I were having one of our frequent moments-of-indecisiveness about what to do after dinner, so I began browsing Netflix for some mindless entertainment. Until I remembered that I’ve been meaning to watch Food Inc. since that missed screening!! And now, more than ever, we’ve become eager to educate ourselves in becoming sustainable in one yet another, and may I stress, our favorite part of life: eating!
Of course, food is not the only way in which we’d like to move toward a sustainable lifestyle. We’ve already begun researching ways to reduce our carbon footprint at home, we take public transportation when available and possible, we’re planning a wedding while trying to focus on sustainability, so it’s been leading to this for a while, but our biggest struggle was finding the resources to learn more about sustainability in our dieting habits. I would get overwhelmed (disclaimer: this won’t come as a surprise to anyone who knows me well, I am frequently overwhelmed when I have too many choices!) at the grocery store between all of the options that claimed to be better that XYZ Brand, but I really had no clue what to look for. I felt almost helpless!
I had no idea how to “do my research” to get informed about “good” brands and companies that fit our lifestyle changes and choices. I could go browse the company’s website, but who knows what sort of things they made up for PR purposes. And I could Google the company, but I worry that the bad reviews are from competitors and the good reviews are from the company’s staff. Basically, I was just leery, distrustful and generally skeptical of my identity-lacking Internet-acquaintances and their advice (although, Shane did share this site with me, I just have yet to make better use of it. He will post more about its uses later...)
So here I am, after having finally watched Food Inc., and I’m feeling like for the first time I have a starting block! The movie directed viewers to their page on Take Part website, and I started peeking around there a bit and discovering the “5 Things You Can Do Right Now”. Shane also decided to check out Joel Salatan’s farm website which was featured in the movie, and they give resources to find local, sustainable farms: http://www.localharvest.org/ and http://www.eatwild.com/ can help you discover farms located, or with delivery locations, in your area! Like any other lifestyle changes, it’s important for us to keep in mind that this is a process!
We are trying new things as we research and investigate, but we are making this transition slowly. Mostly because we’re learning as we go along. But also because we’re trying to be more strict about maintaining a budget, and we need to figure out the puzzle of balancing some of the more-expensive healthy options (ie organic milk, sustainably raised meats, etc) and the more-affordable items (I enjoy reading the (never home)makers tips for eating healthy on a budget.) We’re also trying to keep in mind that there are somethings with that lovely “organic” label on them that are either a bit misleading or are just not really necessary: specifically regarding “the dirty dozen” and the “clean fifteen.” (or go here for a pocket guide)
We would love any feedback that you can provide on the topic of “Sustainable Eating.” We’re interested in books, articles, magazines, websites, and really any resource that could be of assistance and educational value to our diets!
Additionally, I want to share that at this time we are both meat eaters, and although we are actively trying to cutting back on that product, we are not (currently) planning to remove meat from our diets. To all vegans and vegetarians out there, let me tell you that we fully respect and SUPPORT your decisions! I appreciate the efforts you’re making toward more ethical and sustainable choices, and we ask that you don’t hold our choices against us as we continue to learn more about our dietary decisions!!
We did try our hand at black bean burgers last night, and boy were they tasty! I think burgers are one area that we can commit to eating meat-less. I’ve also just started reading Eating Animals, I’m only a few pages in and it’s already hammering on my emotional/sensitive side... I guess we’ll see where the rest of the book takes me.
We're extremely excited about sustainable food now that we've been discovering more resources, and we are happy to be on this adventure, and we hope you’ll enjoy it with us! Even if only by means of moral support :)
I love your green background and that you're both writing posts. I really like blogs with multiple authors. It gives it another layer of depth. (Maybe put post author under the title though?) I am excited to read more!
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