Food.inc

[lizzybeth727]

Yeah drives me crazy. The grass won't even grow in some places because it doesn't get any sunlight at all lol. We even cut down one of the trees in the backyard (mostly because we didn't want it to end up coming through the living room if it were to fall over one day lol) and it still did open up much more space for sunlight.

I just did a google search - like, "vegetable garden +[your state]" - to figure out what will grow best in your area and when the planting times are, and you can figure out what will grow in shade. I know that most vegetables need a lot of sunlight, but I know there are some you can grow in shade too. You could also look up berries, or just grow an herb garden (I think herbs grow well in the shade).

 

[Taqroy]

I'm not going to argue that organic food costs more (although its not three times as much), however by buying organic, natural and no corn syrup food, you can be pretty sure that you don't have pestisides on your food, you aren't supporting companies like monsanto and your food doesn't have growth hormones or other discusting things in it.
You can also just cut your food bill down by not buying processed foods and such (not saying you are - just in general) and instead investing your money in local or organic foods and ethically treated animals.

I probably should have emphasized exactly how obsessive she is concerning what they eat. They only eat organic, low calorie, non processed food and there is no corn syrup in anything they eat. It was her words not mine but I really think her math is correct. I know that when me and Matt started eating healthier (not organic, just healthier) our food bill skyrocketed. I really am not too concerned with buying organic, or antibiotic free or anything other than (mostly) healthy because it's kinda like someone (I think Sparks?) said earlier....we're all going to die anyway. Lol.

 

[FoxyWench]

leafy veggies actually do well in "low light" gardens, lettuces, spinach ect
fruting and flowering veggies (ie tomatoes and squash corn ect) need light, but leafies do well in part shade!!!

i know where my food comes from.
whenever possible as a family we buy "free range" "organic" and "local" foods, but it cant be done all the itme, it tends to be alot more expensive to eat "natural"

one day i WILL (im determined) have a farm, a true smallholding, goats, rabbits, chickens picgs, ducks, horses ect, and everyone will have thier "job" and yes many of those animals will become dinner once mature (or bred to produce dinner)
however for MOST people this is not a doable lifestyel for many reasons...
ive met many chicken owners who adore chicken and eggs, and others who stopped eating eggs when they saw what they looked liked and where they REALY came from...stopped eating chickens because that could have been "flo" or "ronny the rooster"
same goes for many other types of farmers...
then theres the many who simply cannot eat their own pets, and others who can but have to send them off...
ive MET and talked to hunters who state they could NEVER be farmers...killing it with a gun or arrow from a distance is one thing but to hold a rabbit snap its neck and see it squirm in its last moments, or watch a chicken flap as the blood drains just isnt their thing...
its not easy, the summer/fall just past i helped at a local farm, she taught me how to milk goats, shere alpaca, and slaughter and prep chickens and rabbits, i finally stopped feeling queasy about it after chicken 50 and rabbit 10, but still, to most thats just NOT the lifestyle for them...
and buying organic ect...well i have my own opionons on organic after visiting an "organic farm" needless to say i wasnt anymore impressed with their practices, same with free range, did you know in order to qualify as "free range chicken" the "farm" only has to provide 1 sqft of outdoor space per bird...
its reccomended that chickens get 4 sqft of indoor and 10 sqft of outdoor space per bird for those keeping chickens on small holdings and as pets, so how is 1sqft of outside space per bird any different than the 1sqft of indoor space battery birds recive?!

if you REALY want to know where your food comes from, dont bother with these tv shows and "documentries" instead call up some local farmers and see if they mind you taking a trip, call a local meat packing plant and see if you can take a tour, most are happy to oblige as long as you dont come across as some weird peta freek.
i managed to find the farm i helped at by simpy calling around, i explained i wanted to learn more about where what im eating comes from and how to be more self sufficient and she was happy to show me the roaps.

give then option, id say forget organic, forget free range, instead buy a chest freezer, contact a coupld of local farms and go in on theri orders, often smaller famrs will have cattle, too many for just them, so you end up paying per lb plus some to help with the fees for slaughter AND you can pick your cuts, for about the same price youd pay the grocery store...
same with chickens ect...now THATS how you get truly good food...
organic and free range are just lables to make things SOUND better, there often not raised any better than the none organic stuff...there just priced twice the price!

im also not a NO VACCINE kind of person...vaccines were developed for a reason, i do however feel its majore overkill with vaccines nowerdays, boosters every few years, flu shots ect, hand sanitizer and baths twice a day...
no, give them the basic shots and then let them get dirty! theres nothing better for the imune system than getting outside

 

[sillysally]

We actually already have a garden. We grow corn, bell peppers, strawberries, cucumbers, tomatoes, and cantelope. We don't have good land to grow it on.. very, very dry and hard to keep up a garden,though. Our corn didn't turn out last year. We maybe only got one meal out of the entire thing we planted. BUT, we had WAY surplus of tomatoes and cucumbers. Also, not sure how long we'll be living here. When we do move out, our only option for a "garden" will be growing in pots outside our apartment if even that is an option. So, in the summer we do currently have a way to get some fresh vegetables. If we did move out, I'm sure we'd still get some surplus of the garden handed our way, assuming his grandparents would be healthy enough to plant and maintain garden without us.

Certainly not becoming a vegetarian yet, but I do want to eat less meat, and eat ONLY local meat if I can. Like I said, we'll still have to look into it.

If you are still living there in the spring you may want to see if you can get a hold of some horse manure to work into the soil (most owners will give it to you for free--I knolw we do). You want to make sure it is "aged" though, not fresh. I don't know if that is "technically" organic since most horse owners don't feed their horses organic feed, but it will improve the soil and help your stuff grow better. My parents have very sandy soil yet have been able to successfully have a veggie garden....

 

[sillysally]

But anyway--- I would rather have 100 mothers who are in dire need to feed their children get regular milk than 50 people get organic milk.

Oh yeah, I totally see that. I'm just saying that I would rather see WIC money spent (even if it IS more money) on lean meats, fruits and veggies, lean dairy, whole grains, etc, than boxes of mac and cheese and roman noodles.

 

[Gempress]

WIC give organic milk, or organic fruits and veggies? Umm...HELLZ NO. Never in a million, billion years would I support this. WIC is supposed to be a NEED, not a WANT. There are tons of people out there who are not on government assistance, and can't afford to buy organic for themselves. How is it fair for them to pay for somebody *else* to buy it?

 

[Nechochwen]

I only eat veal because I know that some poor defenseless cow baby had to be brutally murdered for my meal. And god does it taste good.

 

[-bogart-]

WIC give organic milk, or organic fruits and veggies? Umm...HELLZ NO. Never in a million, billion years would I support this. WIC is supposed to be a NEED, not a WANT. There are tons of people out there who are not on government assistance, and can't afford to buy organic for themselves. How is it fair for them to pay for somebody *else* to buy it?

ummm not here in louisiana , and i am guessing not anywhere.
here is what all the diffrent WIC packages are here
http://www.dhh.louisiana.gov/offices/publications/pubs-320/WIC Foods Brochure 5-09.pdf

this is a new varity , they just started with teh fruits and veggies and bread , just used to be milk , eggs , cheese , cereal

.
I recieve the children 1 to 5 for my girls , when they where younger i got the other one. there are options for the breat feeding mother also.

and it is NEED based . i had to show residence , income and before i was approved.


i wont stay on wic till there 5 though . maybe till there 2 like i did with my other 2 . depends on the economy and if i get the raise i am slated for.

 

[-bogart-]

Oh yeah, I totally see that. I'm just saying that I would rather see WIC money spent (even if it IS more money) on lean meats, fruits and veggies, lean dairy, whole grains, etc, than boxes of mac and cheese and roman noodles.

i think you mean food stamps . which i am not on but have thought about but really not NEEDING them yet. i am opn wic though and unless you are brestfeeding you get no meat , and then the BF's get canned tuna.

 

[-bogart-]

I only eat veal because I know that some poor defenseless cow baby had to be brutally murdered for my meal. And god does it taste good.

:rofl1:
i new i liked you for a reason!

 

[sillysally]

i think you mean food stamps . which i am not on but have thought about but really not NEEDING them yet. i am opn wic though and unless you are brestfeeding you get no meat , and then the BF's get canned tuna.

Yeah, probably. I don't know much about that stuff. Either way, I would prefer my tax dollars go towards food with more nutrition per calories....

 

[smkie]

Eggs are cheap. Hyia eats a lot of eggs. So is peanut butter.

 

[-bogart-]

Eggs are cheap. Hyia eats a lot of eggs. So is peanut butter.

curious , how much is a dozen eggs where you at? they have went up the past year or so.
used to be 99 cents a dozen large now , now it is 1.99 a dozen.

takes my family 1 1/2 to 2 dozen to feed all of us.

 

[smkie]

2 something. On sale a little less. WE get best choice.
CHeese, peanut butter, i mean for pete sake hamburger helper is sunday dinner around here. NOt a daily staple.

I showed Hyia how to put that egg in the hole in the bread thing and she was tickled pink. WE dont' eat real high on the hog here, but we also don't buy soda, chips, cookies, cake mixes (unless it's someone's birthday)..ice cream is a real treat and that comes in a box not a fancy container. You learn how to deal. I feed Hyia and myself on 200 a month.

I have to eat a lot of processed meat even tho I know it isn't good for me. A lot of what i eat isn't...but it is what it is. I take good supplements. I have to. I make sure Hyia does as well. NOw tell me WHY you can't get children's chewable vitimins but you can buy soda, oreos and potato chips? THe biggest lux spending i do in her directions is i do get her the yogurts she likes. ONe for each morning. It took me forever but i finally won the death to sugar, cereal, fatting carbs for breakfast and have her switched over to yogurt and fresh fruit.

 

[-bogart-]

i hear ya smkie , i was just wondering what the price diffence was by region.

200 a week is what my brood go through. we do cater to caleb though , if not he would litteraly starve himself .(yes he would proved it to his neurologist a couple years ago when he was in the hospital and refused to eat for 5 days cause it wasnt what he wanted)
we do not eat as healthy as i want because we can not afford to. its feast or famine at my house. feast 1 thru 15 famine 15 thru 30. i get paid once a moht and it has to last or we dont eat. period.

 

[smkie]

BOy i am anal about checking the last week or so to make sure I got Hyia covered. Making sure I have backup. Nothing wrong with sandwiches and soup.
IN fact I think grilled cheese and tomato soup will suit her for dinner just fine.

 

[Criosphynx]

Iam currently preparing to live "off grid" which involves, in part growing all your own produce.

anyone interested in growing LOTS of veggies on crappy land you can look up, or ask me about tire gardening and Earthboxes. Our land is useless for crops and Iam making it work. I hope to be completely self sufficient in under 5 years.

Anyone who doesn't have chickens, who wants them. I highly recomend it. I have three and they are a great piece of mind.

 

[smkie]

Saw a sign at the grocery store tacked to the window. GEt back to Goats. Instructions on how to incorporate into your life. My landlord is a flat out fool for losing these 2 acres. IF someone took that idiotic two trees out of here, this land is sitting on water (obvious by the well in my front yard, and my sump pump that gets good exercise. It never completely dries out. I could grow enough on this land to feed our family easily. But no..it will be ruined now.

ANyway about food, you get what you get...when it really gets twisted is when you take out some nuts that are rancid, and some cans so old the insides are etched by the acid and your Mom leans over your shoulder and says "good enough for who it's fer" which must have been what the grocery store that donated thought. Tessa's young. SHe can do something about it, but for the poor elderly, the young children who's parents don't know better, its a crime. WE got salad dressing once more than a year over the expiration date.

WHat is it..change what you can ..accept what you cant.

 

[GlassOnion]

Meh, 'organic'.

"The organic label is a marketing tool," Glickman said at the release of the ruling. "It is not a statement about food safety. Nor is 'organic' a value judgment about nutrition or quality."

But the AVMA, along with other organizations, is concerned that consumers may think the USDA's seal means that organic food is healthier and safer. The official AVMA position statement reads, in part: "The AVMA recognized that there is interest in organically produced food stuffs, including livestock products. However, an organic label in no circumstances implies any assurance of increased food safety."

USDA releases organic food guidelines - February 15, 2001

Yet according to a recent comprehensive review published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, there is no evidence to support the claim that organic food has higher quantities of vitamins and minerals. In addition to that finding--contested by many organic food advocates--the USDA announced this month that it would audit the National Organic Program, which develops standards and accredits organic certifiers. The decision came at the behest of industry members who say the integrity of the program had been compromised in recent years with less-than-uniform guidelines.

This news points to how it's become increasingly difficult to trust the claim that organics are healthier for you--and the confusion has a lot to do with the complicated evolution of scientific research.

After eliminating sub-par studies, Dangour and his team analyzed the results of 55 papers and found no significant differences in eight of 11 nutrient categories, including vitamin C, potassium and zinc.

"We're not saying there's no difference," says Dangour. "We're saying there's no evidence of a difference."

Instead, Hirshberg focuses on the absence of hormones, antibiotics, pesticides and synthetic fertilizers, which may have relative health benefits by limiting exposure to toxic chemicals and antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

These are the paramount principles of organic food production, so it had concerned Hirshberg and other producers that the guidelines of the country's organic certification program have been loosely enforced. Some products--including baby food and grated cheese--have been labeled organic when they contain synthetic or stabilizing ingredients.

Organic Food Isn't Always Healthy

Just because a box of cookies or a carton of ice cream is labeled organic, doesn't mean it's healthy. It can still be loaded with fat, sugar, calories and salt. John Mackey, the CEO of Whole Foods, recently acknowledged this contradiction when he admitted that the organics and health food chain often "sell a bunch of junk."

Forbes Smears Organic: "Organic Food: Behind The Hype"

 

[sparks19]

well... I think there is a difference between WIC providing healthy options and providing organic.

I'm sorry but you can be perfectly healthy buying fresh fruits and vegetables that aren't specially labelled organic and for the most part it can be cheaper than buying a meal in a box. I know I can get 6 bananas for Hannah for jsut over a dollar. Broccoli is also inexpensive. and frozen veggies... you can get for quite cheap and they are just as healthy as long as you aren't buying ones that come in a sauce.

so they CAN buy healthy foods... people just choose not to.

But organic food is a want. you don't need to buy organic to make healthy choices. so no... I'm not for WIC or foodstamps providing organic.

and you can provide yourself many meals by planting your own veggies for a fraction of the cost. seeds are not expensive... some soil... basically the rest is up to you and you can get a surplus of food from that.