I came across this article the other day and it got me thinking….How am I making a difference? It was time to be honest with myself, how many of these was I actually doing?
In short, here are the 9 things recommended to fix our food system:
- Drink fewer sodas and sweetened beverages
- Eat at home instead of eating out
- Tell schools to stop selling sodas and junk food
- Meatless Mondays! Go meatless at least one day a week
- Buy organic or sustainable foods with little to no pesticide use
- Protect family farms by visiting your local farmers’ market
- Make a point to know where your food comes from by reading labels
- Tell your lawmakers that food safety is important to you
- Demand job protections for farm workers and food processors, ensuring fair wages and other protections
In all honesty, I am big on numbers 1, 2, 4, and 7.
1. We very rarely drink sodas. We do drink juice, but not a whole lot.
2. We only eat out a few times a month. Mostly because I love to cook and when buying our groceries, I always read labels. Which leads me to number…
7. I am a HUGE label reader. Before I purchase most things, I read labels and take into consideration: nutrition facts, ingredients as well as food miles. The downside to reading labels is that my grocery trips can take longer, but my kids are pretty good and usually want to read the labels with me.
4. We have meatless meals probably 2-3 times a week. I’d like to do more, but I don’t like soy products and with my marathon training and exercising schedules, I feel like I really need the lean protein. But when purchasing meat, I am always looking for local and less processed products.
5. I do buy some organic at the grocery store, but it is still really expensive and not really within our weekly food budget. Which leads me to number….
6. I do go to local farmer’s markets when I can, since the prices are usually better than the grocery store. We have a few good ones here, as well as as few CSA’s.
I guess 6 out of 9 isn’t too bad.
Here’s the article, take a look for your self and think about what’s important to you and what you can change to make a difference.
