Cha... Cha... Cha... Cha.. Change
Not sure if many will be interested in this. I am mostly writing it for myself. Feel free to ignore and just look at the cute pictures of the kids.
It's no secret that I am a person who likes change in my life. Besides my employment at Stout, I change jobs every 2 to 4 years. Even when going to school, I only spent 2 years at each college. On our 10 year old house, we have had plenty of remodels.
Other things have been harder to change, at least for the better. My eating habits, since having kids, are not good. And since my metobolism has slowed (thank-you 30s), the poor eating has really done a job on my health.
Last summer I made a commitment to excercise and failed. I hate to fail! So, this summer I decided to just see what happens. No big commitment, but just some small changes. Do you ever feel like there are times in your life when you are really receptive to change? Of course, I have many changes ahead, so maybe it is just my mind's way of preparing me.
Here are some things that happened recently:
-Last spring, listened to a program on NPR about small sustainable farming, the cost of transportation costs in food, and the science of food development. None of it was new info, but I became a tad more interested.
-Visited Chippewa Valley History Musuem and realized the kind of farming I grew up with was now "history." Wondered to myself: Does it really matter?
-Read a column by a local farmer in this area. He outlined the pros and cons of family v. corporate farming. Yes, it does matter. Sustainability of resources.
-Read the book Food Rules. Yes, it does matter. Health care.
-Watched the movie Food Inc. Yes, it does matter. Treatment of animals, the genetics of our food sources, and healthcare.
What I have learned: The current western diet has contributed to our healthcare crisis. The food industry wants us to believe the crisis is due to a failure in individual personal responsibility. Yet, given food choices, and we have many, our country continues to pick unhealthy diets which are crumpling us. Individual choice should lead us to better choices, but it isn't happening--which leads me to believe, bigger issues are at work here. In 1960, our country spent 17% of income on food and 5% percent on health care. Now, we spend 10% on food and 16% on healthcare. And... We are LESS healthy! This is wrong. The problems are a mix: a gigantic system's problem in the food industry, a lack of education on the issues, and personal irresponsibility.
The changes we personally are making:
-Buying eggs from a local family who have roaming chickens.
-Signed up for organic dairy delivery from a local farm.
-Got a Community Supported Agriculture share.
-Trying to figure out the meat thing. This will be hard.
These are not huge changes, but we are trying to commit our time and money to this (ironically, at a time we don't have much of either). Whatever personal responsibility we have, we will leverage it in our lives.
It's no secret that I am a person who likes change in my life. Besides my employment at Stout, I change jobs every 2 to 4 years. Even when going to school, I only spent 2 years at each college. On our 10 year old house, we have had plenty of remodels.
Other things have been harder to change, at least for the better. My eating habits, since having kids, are not good. And since my metobolism has slowed (thank-you 30s), the poor eating has really done a job on my health.
Last summer I made a commitment to excercise and failed. I hate to fail! So, this summer I decided to just see what happens. No big commitment, but just some small changes. Do you ever feel like there are times in your life when you are really receptive to change? Of course, I have many changes ahead, so maybe it is just my mind's way of preparing me.
Here are some things that happened recently:
-Last spring, listened to a program on NPR about small sustainable farming, the cost of transportation costs in food, and the science of food development. None of it was new info, but I became a tad more interested.
-Visited Chippewa Valley History Musuem and realized the kind of farming I grew up with was now "history." Wondered to myself: Does it really matter?
-Read a column by a local farmer in this area. He outlined the pros and cons of family v. corporate farming. Yes, it does matter. Sustainability of resources.
-Read the book Food Rules. Yes, it does matter. Health care.
-Watched the movie Food Inc. Yes, it does matter. Treatment of animals, the genetics of our food sources, and healthcare.
The changes we personally are making:
-Buying eggs from a local family who have roaming chickens.
-Signed up for organic dairy delivery from a local farm.
-Got a Community Supported Agriculture share.
-Trying to figure out the meat thing. This will be hard.
These are not huge changes, but we are trying to commit our time and money to this (ironically, at a time we don't have much of either). Whatever personal responsibility we have, we will leverage it in our lives.
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