In my last email we talked about organic produce. Now I want to tell you a little about the importance of organic meat and dairy. Like I mentioned in the last email, the government regulation of our food supply is horrendous. You would not believe what is allowed to taint our milk and dairy. Similarly, you would not believe the impact all this has on our environment and health. Being from Seattle, I’m surrounded by “green”, “sustainable” EVERYTHING. It is a lot to learn where/when/why you should spend extra money on “green” items and organic foods. I mean, does *everyone* have to drive a Prius?? (If you’ve never been to Seattle, let me tell you that every other car on the freeway is a Prius. I think the Prius is our new state flower or something, haha!) The Prius is a great car, I mean no disrespect. My point is that I’m inundated with environmental concerns here in Seattle. This is a good thing. Lots of opportunity for education, growth and improvement! I’m happy to pass some of what I’ve learned on to my Fit Healthy Mom friends.
I’ve digressed a bit . . . . Back to organic meats and dairy!!
Did you know that our largest amounts of air and water (yes, the water you drink) pollution come from animal agriculture?
Did you know that animal agriculture is the cause of 80% of all deforestation?
Did you know that livestock consumes half of the entire world’s grain harvest?
I’m not suggesting you become a vegetarian or a vegan. Although, that’s not a bad idea. I’m just suggesting you become an educated consumer. You can eat meat and dairy without throwing our environment to the wolves. You can also eat meat and dairy without risking the health of you and your family. As you read the info below you’ll see how compromised our meat and dairy supply are. Scary stuff for you. Scarier for your kids. Please know what you are eating and spend the money to safely feed yourself. Consider it preventative health care, as it absolutely is.
This information is a summary of this great article I found on why to buy organic meat and dairy. . .
10 Reasons to Buy Organic Meat and Dairy:
1. Protect yourself and your family from mad cow disease. Cattle weren’t meant to eat meat. They were meant to eat grains. Our non-organic meat supply is fed ground up animal parts that are infected with disease. So gross! Organic cattle is fed a 100% organic grain diet.
2. Humane and ethical treatment of animals. Regardless of how much you think an animal can think and feel, no living thing deserves to live in an animal pen so tightly packed that it never learns to properly walk. No animal deserves to live in a pen so tightly packed that it is forced to soak day in, day out in it’s own excrement. Organic animals are typically raised in open and cruel free environment.
3. Animals can roam and graze. This means they are healthier (which will keep you healthier!) They are less fatty. They have a more balanced and well rounded diet from roaming and grazing as they were intended to do.
4. Say NO to Drugs! No hormones, no antibiotics, no GMO feed and other drugs. When you eat animals injected with this junk, YOU are consuming the same junk. SCARY! You want to really throw off your endocrine system and metabolism, go ahead and consume a bunch of hormones. Ever thought about how these hormones/drugs are used to plump up the meat. Do ya think maybe the play a role in plumping you up too?? Organic animals have more nutrients in their diet (= more nutrients for you!) and have proven to be significantly more healthy than their non-organic counterparts. Sick meat = sick people. Healthy meat = healthy people. It’s not rocket science.
5. Poop. Small farm poop = good. Industrial farm poop = bad. The manure produced by small farms is of a quality and quantity that they can use it as natural organic fertilzer. Awesome. Industrial farms have an over abundance of manure and it becomes toxic due to what the animals ingest. By overabundance I mean literally TONS and TONS of poop. So, it is an environmental hazard, releasing toxic fumes, harming the animals, the workers and polluting our air. Disgusting!
*Sorry if you’re dry heaving now…*
6. Less chemicals for the earth, for the animals, for your family. Organic farmers do not use synthetic pesticides and fertilizers. This means the ground/water/ecosystem are not contiminated. The grazing animals are not ingesting these dangerous and harmful chemicals and you aren’t either. The Earth wins, the animals win, you and your family wins.
7. Diversity in breeds – would you procreate with your cousin or sibling? Smaller farms tend to raise a wider variety of species, keeping the gene pool bigger. Industrial farms only support a few breeds, causing the extinction of some breeds. Think about this in terms of humans. Would it be healthy for us to have only a few “breeds” of people? Eventually, we would only have close relatives to procreate with. We all know this leads to all sorts of problem. . . . FYI, everytime you buy a brown egg you contribute to this diversity. Buy brown eggs from your local farmers!
8. Industrial farms = energy whores. These farms use an incredible amount of energy to produce, transport and process the huge quantities of food and waste they produce. They rely primarily on fossil fuels, not green at all. Their pesticide use contaminates the groundwater and soil. Your local organic farmers typically use 70% less energy. Additionally, the food provided by your local farmers does not have to travel far to get to your table. Perfect!
9. Support your neighbors. Wouldn’t you rather support your neighborhood farmers who are working hard to give you top quality meat and dairy products than send your money across the country to a farm where thousands and thousands of animals live in their own toxic excrement and are fed chemicals, hormones, and ground animal parts. After being all contaminated these animals are sanitized by soaking in bleach and other “cleaners” (not fit for human consumption) and then flown across the country to your table. The correct answer to this question is so obvious it seems silly to even ask.
10. Take a stand for cryin’ out loud! If we all were to abandon industrial meat and dairy for local organic farms, wouldn’t the government have to listen and set some appropriate regulations for the meat and dairy industry? Aren’t you completely disturbed and disgusted by the lack of regulation in this industry?
Yes, it’s a bit more expensive to eat organic meats and dairy. But you can’t put a price preventing cancer or preventing other life threatening diseases. You have one life. Don’t you want to fuel yourself in a way that you can live completely and not be compromised by toxic foods and toxic conditions. Look at your family budget and see what you can cut out in order to make organic meat and dairy a part of your families breakfast, lunch and dinner. Less Starbucks, fewer video games, less shopping? If you have any tips/tricks on affordable organic meats/dairy. Please share with me so I can pass along this valuable to other Fit Healthy Moms!
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