zig_zag
03-21-2008, 08:43 PM
... And when I say "everyone", I mean everyone... From our lovely earth/ecosystem/environment, to its insects and animals, to you and me... local biodynamic farmers... Your karma... :D
I'm sorry if this seeming sidetrack from "raw" aggravates people, but I feel it of grave importance to address this issue. You are all focused so keenly on your health, but what about the health of the planet, its inhabitants, and our futures? And, moreover, you might just not be as 'healthy' as you think...
To get to the point, my primary attack here is on Whole Foods- you know, that supposed 'health food store' we all flock to? I've been guilty many a time myself. Why? Because of its ominous convenience (it is, after all, right around the corner from my train, and most likely the nearest well-stocked health food store to you ha), and its vast selection. But selection of what? Produce that's out of season for my environment, flown in from such places as California, Texas, Venezuela, Brazil, Holland... not to mention 'Tibet' and the 'Amazon'??:eek: Produce that has no ethic and moral behind it, and brims with industrial/corporate/capitalist crap? Produce that has likely been quite significantly denatured by the time it reaches your plate?
Do you realize that there are many strains of 'organic' these days, and that the term is alot more lenient than you would think? Do you know that most all of Whole Foods' "organic" fruit and veg. products are provided by Cal-Organic (fresh produce), Cascadian Farms (frozen) and Earthbound farms- all of which are industrial organic companies which work in large-scale, factory-like terms, very much like any conventional large-scale farm, save for a few little tweaks applied so that they could ascertain that trendy "USDA approved organic" logo... Which, by the way, has little to nothing to do with MORALS/philosophy in the world of industrial farming- becoming organic is merely a good marketing strategy these days... Or since around 1990 I believe...
Do you realize that, by the time much of this produce reaches your plate, alot of the nutrients have been lost due to the expansive, lengthy travels (depending on your location, ofcourse), and that much of it has inevitably been saturated by diesel fuel? Or that all this traveling is what accounts for a great percentage of the fossil fuel usage/emissions in America?
Now, I'm not saying be overly neurotic about how much your produce has been denatured, or saturated in fuel, or how farming with grandiose machines versus a simple tractor and a pair of hands contribute to the holistic nutrition of your food.... I don't promote neuroticism... But, for the sake of ethics, I guess I feel it important to be fanatical here;) Just do everyone and yourself a favor, and the next time you think about going to Wholefoods, please just consider buying from your mom and pops health food store, even if it means... gasp... eating what's in season... Or even better yet, sourcing our your local farmer's market!! For ethics/morals sake, and the environments sake...
Sorry, our fine-tuned, captialist set-up just... gets me :o And change... can only start when it starts.
I'm sorry if this seeming sidetrack from "raw" aggravates people, but I feel it of grave importance to address this issue. You are all focused so keenly on your health, but what about the health of the planet, its inhabitants, and our futures? And, moreover, you might just not be as 'healthy' as you think...
To get to the point, my primary attack here is on Whole Foods- you know, that supposed 'health food store' we all flock to? I've been guilty many a time myself. Why? Because of its ominous convenience (it is, after all, right around the corner from my train, and most likely the nearest well-stocked health food store to you ha), and its vast selection. But selection of what? Produce that's out of season for my environment, flown in from such places as California, Texas, Venezuela, Brazil, Holland... not to mention 'Tibet' and the 'Amazon'??:eek: Produce that has no ethic and moral behind it, and brims with industrial/corporate/capitalist crap? Produce that has likely been quite significantly denatured by the time it reaches your plate?
Do you realize that there are many strains of 'organic' these days, and that the term is alot more lenient than you would think? Do you know that most all of Whole Foods' "organic" fruit and veg. products are provided by Cal-Organic (fresh produce), Cascadian Farms (frozen) and Earthbound farms- all of which are industrial organic companies which work in large-scale, factory-like terms, very much like any conventional large-scale farm, save for a few little tweaks applied so that they could ascertain that trendy "USDA approved organic" logo... Which, by the way, has little to nothing to do with MORALS/philosophy in the world of industrial farming- becoming organic is merely a good marketing strategy these days... Or since around 1990 I believe...
Do you realize that, by the time much of this produce reaches your plate, alot of the nutrients have been lost due to the expansive, lengthy travels (depending on your location, ofcourse), and that much of it has inevitably been saturated by diesel fuel? Or that all this traveling is what accounts for a great percentage of the fossil fuel usage/emissions in America?
Now, I'm not saying be overly neurotic about how much your produce has been denatured, or saturated in fuel, or how farming with grandiose machines versus a simple tractor and a pair of hands contribute to the holistic nutrition of your food.... I don't promote neuroticism... But, for the sake of ethics, I guess I feel it important to be fanatical here;) Just do everyone and yourself a favor, and the next time you think about going to Wholefoods, please just consider buying from your mom and pops health food store, even if it means... gasp... eating what's in season... Or even better yet, sourcing our your local farmer's market!! For ethics/morals sake, and the environments sake...
Sorry, our fine-tuned, captialist set-up just... gets me :o And change... can only start when it starts.