Organic

Last night while watching Food Inc. I was *finally* able to get the point across to my boyfriend on WHY eating organic is so important and why its good to know where your food comes from. I'm super excited that he is finally "figuring it out" and I can't wait till I get to sit down with him and make him watch Food Inc for himself.

But before I fell asleep I searched around online for some good information. Because me simply telling people to "eat better!" isn't going to cut it:)

This is from Care2.com and is their "Top 10 Eco-Friendly Reasons to Buy Organic Meat & Dairy" and explains some of the health benefits from going Organic.

Avoiding foods that contain HFCS (High-Fructose corn syrup) is also important when it comes to healthy eating. I know its hard, because pretty much everything has either HFCS or another form of CS in it, but I feel like avoiding it is so much more beneficial to your health.

I found a few different sites with lists that had brands/food that DON'T contain HFCS, but this one seemed to have the largest list. So if anyone knows of another site or products that aren't on this one then let me know!
highfructosehigh.com/no-hfcs/
Here is another blog that also has a good list of non-HFCS items:
georumination.blogspot.com

Yes, Organic food usually costs more. Personally I'm willing to pay more to know whats in my food, but I know most people are leery of that. Its just easier to look for the products with the lowest price not the least ingredients. But here is a link to some coupons that may help out the "cash-money" aspect:)
Coupons!

I also get a booklet of Organic coupons every few months from Mambo Sprouts which you get if you sign up for their mailing list.

The Food Inc. website has more info on what is in your food and what you can do about it. I suggest taking a look if all this is new to you:)

I just feel like people should know where their meat comes from and how unhealthy it really is to eat "mystery meat". I can't even put into words how sad it made me to learn about Kevin Kowalcyk, a 2 year old who died on August 11th, 2001 from E.coli O157:H7. How did Kevin get E.coli O157:H7? He ate meat that was contaminated with E.coli in July...and the meat wasn't recalled until August 27th, 2001...after Kevin had already died from the sickness. Kevin's story is just one of MANY, every year thousands of people get sick from food illnesses. Its time to people to become more aware and make a change.

If you would like to learn more about Kevin's story, here is a link to the Center for Foodborn Illness where it shares more of Kevin's story and his parent's fight against foodborn illness.

Please. I KNOW it can be hard to go completely organic and if you can't avoid HFCS right now, just PLEASE stop supporting the huge meat companies that are disrespecting the animals, workers and basically YOU by feeding you junk. Buy local. Know your farmer. Or if that isn't possible, go to whole foods or another organic food store. Make sure your meat is organic and you know where it comes from and what is in it. Sure, its more money and more work, but its worth it. Kevin's story should be enough to make you think.
So thats my challenge for the day, educate yourself and go organic.

With lots of love,
-J