Where does your food come from? And I don’t mean which store…I mean where was it grown, raised, harvested and by whom? For animals, what did that animal eat? For produce, what was it treated with? For pantry items, what kind of ingredients are in that??? I think you get where I’m going with this and I definitely don’t expect that most people would know the answers to all these questions, but I still think they’re worth asking.
Let me kick this off by saying that I think it’s near impossible to know where ALL of your food comes from. I’ll also say that I think it’s VERY possible to start small, do some homework and see where it leads you. Why, you ask? Lots of reasons…let’s start with your health, and the health of your family. It’s no secret that what I like to call the “Big Food” industry has taken us for a bunch of fools when it comes to mass production of processed foods. Do you think concoctions of ingredients that you can’t pronounce would be fueling your body in the best way? Likely not. Why? Because they’re full of fillers, sugars, chemicals, and other arguably addictive ingredients designed to leave you feeling a bit jenky and likely wanting more. But why not, “it’s so cheap and easy?”, you might ask.
I’ll tell you why…and for the record, I’m definitely NOT an expert, just a mildly paranoid consumer that thinks the powers-that-be like to keep us lulled into a fall sense of “comfortable and happy”, without taking our best interests to heart. It takes time and effort to do that homework that I mentioned earlier, but I argue that the benefits outweigh the cost. You might say “but healthy food costs more”. Bullshit. Yes, grass fed beef costs more per pound than “Big Food” beef, but pound for pound, grass fed beef is a much bigger bang for your buck. Do the homework and tell me I’m wrong.
I’ll give you a first hand example; we got some ground beef from a friend that knew the farm where the cow was raised, slaughtered and processed. I then went to the store and bought a pound of lean ground beef and cooked them both. With no seasoning, side by side taste tests revealed that the farm-raised beef had more flavor, way better color, and was generally more delicious. The store bought beef was bland, gray in color, and just, meh.
Need another example? Let’s think back to your grandparents’ time, or even their grandparents’ time. They didn’t go to the supermarket and buy groceries for the week. They raised animals, grew fruit and vegetables, milled grains, and likely traded some of these wares with other families that maybe had fresh eggs, milk cows, or other kinds of produce. The food was raised with intention and care. It wasn’t engineered, over processed or mass produced.
I get it, maybe you can’t have a couple of cows, a chicken coop and a vegetable garden in your back yard. But you can go to your local farmers’ market and see what they have to offer. You can find a reputable butcher in your area that sells sustainably raised meats. You absolutely can read labels at the store and find foods that have more real ingredients and less crap in them. You can’t do it all, but you can do something. Start small, but start.
We’ve been more conscious about sourcing our food for several years now and have a bit of a process in place. I pick up a customized local produce box every other week that has seasonal fruits, vegetables, and locally produced things like olive oil or vinegar. We have a few friends that hunt regularly and know that we’re always willing to pay for/trade for their elk, deer, wild boar, etc. We also have a few friends that we go in on splitting a locally raised cow or pig with now and then. I have several friends that have chickens and will trade a loaf of my sourdough for a dozen eggs on a regular basis.
Like I said, it takes a bit of homework and time, but arming yourself with information will pay off in the long run. I dare you…do a taste test like we did and tell me that you can’t tell the difference between “REAL” meat and mass produced “meat”, and see where that rabbit hole takes you. Enjoy the ride….
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