Our Food Transformation

Last fall I wrote about Hayden's food allergies (here). Since then, we have come a long way in learning about food and what he can and cannot eat without being sick. It has also given us an opportunity to reevaluate the food we eat and buy.

We have pretty much gone completely organic and we buy non-GMO/Non-GMO Project Verified when available. For years I was okay with GMO crops because when it first came out there was this promise of less pesticides/herbicides which meant "better for us" food, better for the environment, etc. I was also sort of "anti" organic because during my time as a horticulture student I learned that even though some pesticides/herbicides were deemed okay for organic crops (they were organic vs. synthetic produced) they had the potential to be just as dangerous or more so than the typical synthetic ones used in commercial farming.

In recent years, many new studies have been published to show that GMO crops are actually using MORE pesticides and harmful things for our food, bodies and environment. The things I have read about GMO's actually frightens me and makes me wonder if some of the health issues we have encountered are directly related to the foods we are eating.

We actively seek local or chain food restaurants/stores that provide food without GMO's, preservatives, additives, etc and that are organic. We no longer purchase meat from animals fed grain (because it is all full of GMO crops). At one of the farmer's markets, we found a local beef farmer that raises grassfed cattle and is comparatively priced to standard grain-fed beef you find in the grocery store. We are super picky about our eggs, chicken and fish. Thankfully we have a great variety of stores here in Knoxville, but I think Trader Joe's has become our favorite. All of their products and produce are non-GMO, they are reasonably priced and they have lots of fresh items.

Kyle and I love soda, but we are doing our best to completely eliminate it from our diet. However, when we want a soda, we now buy Jones Soda. I am amazed at our changes and how our mindsets have changed over the past 6+ months--all because we had to start reading food labels and realized all the "crap" that is in our food.

I have yet to understand why foods that should only contain a few items actually have 10+ ingredients. Bread, for example, should just have a few things and most bread you buy from the grocery store shelf is riddled with preservatives, artificial ingredients and some type of over processed sugar. Why?

My other big "why?" here lately is why does most every other country ban GMO foods as well as many other ingredients we deem "ok" and "safe" here in the U.S.? I just don't understand it. Is this one of the reasons we are less healthy here in the U.S.? I really feel I could go on and on and on with this and many topics. You probably don't want to hear it and probably don't care.

My goal is for our little family to eat healthier, be healthier and cut the "crap". This past winter without all the normal "crap" we were eating (even things considered "healthy") we had less illness and we made it through a much colder winter than the year before with basically no missed school days. We are still working on transforming our food (because you just can't do it all overnight!) but we are much more aware of every thing we buy and eat.  We cook more, make more food at home and it has been totally worth it.