ruminating

Ruminate, from the same root as "ruminant," a cow or other animal that chews cud. So, to "chew things over."

I just finished reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, and it's galvanized me into making some much-needed changes in my lifestyle. I've always tried to buy organic and natural whenever possible. And I am a vegetarian not because I think eating meat is wrong, but because I think the American system of factory farming is cruel and immoral. But I got lazy. I thought that just being veggie was enough, that I was "better." Now I'm rethinking.


A Closer Look
The book began with facts about the fuel cost alone of getting food to my table. That January tomato began in California with petroleum-derived fertilizers and pesticides, and was shipped thousands of miles on a diesel truck to get to me in Virginia. We're so used to just buying whatever produce at the grocery store, and having the same selection year-round, that we as a culture have become disconnected from our food. What's in season right now? What's the hidden cost? Who cares? You can get whatever you want.

Back to meat: another disconnect. We pick up a plastic-wrapped cut of beef in the store, it's just food. We understand, intellectually, but have lost that visceral knowing that it was once a living animal. It breathed and ate and slept and pooped and mooed. It had a life. Eating it should be a sacrament--a deep and profound thanks for the sacrifice of this creature. We are omnivores. Life feeds on life. But how many of us acknowledge, spiritually, the lives that died so we might survive and grow?

Dilemmas
That said, I'm considering a return to eating meat. If, and only if, it is local and humanely raised. It's going to take some soul-searching for sure. But I need protein in my diet. Do I eat (possibly GMO) soy products from far away, or local meat? Or just a lot of eggs?

Another issue: local is better because the food is fresher and doesn't require tons of fossil fuel to ship it to me. Organic is better because it's more nutritious and pesticides, hormones, and antibiotics are harmful. But sometimes I can get local OR organic. Which do I choose?

For example: if my choices are between organic milk from Idaho (I'm in VA) and local rBGH milk, what do I do? Whose health is more important--the planet's, or my family's? I'm trying to find compromises.

In Action
I began this week by researching farmers markets. I went with no particular objectives, just to get whatever was local and good. I came home with eggs, asparagus, strawberries, beef for Jason, and some green beans (local? I forgot to ask.) Some of the markets around here stock produce that's clearly not local--limes and the like--so I went for stuff that was labeled "local" or had the name of the farm. In the case of the eggs, I talked to the lady whose chickens laid them. At the grocery store, I looked for local produce. I went to items I knew were in season around here, and even then they were grown in California! I did buy some fresh basil from a Pennsylvania farm--it smelled delicious.

Cooking this week has been delightful. So far we've had rigatoni with asparagus and green beans in vodka sauce, homemade pizza with basil and roasted red peppers, and cheese and asparagus omelets. Not to mention just eating strawberries. Jason seems to be on board with this endeavor as long as the food is tasty and he doesn't have to work harder.

And damn, the food is tasty. As Ms. Kingsolver puts it, the only thing you're depriving yourself of by committing to eating local is bland, mealy out-of-season supermarket crap. Things just taste better when they're fresh.


It's so easy to become complacent. Eating consciously requires research, and work, and commitment. (And label-deciphering, and people skills. And cooking a lot.) But even the smallest change is a beginning, and a worthwhile one.

This blog is my food diary, a record of an adventure. Stay tuned.

www.localharvest.org
www.animalvegetablemiracle.com
www.100milediet.com