Shopping for healthy food 100 years ago was a piece of cake. Farmers did not rely on chemical fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides to grow food. Farmers did not subject their animals to hormones, antibiotics and cheap feed. Since the birth of Industrial Agriculture, our food now comes with a huge list of chemical additives that are harmful to the human body, making our once easy choices, harder and harder. Thanks to these harmful practices to our body’s and our planet, the Organic Industry and Sustainable Food Movement are growing in leaps and bounds. The small snowball that started to build steam in the 1970′s is now big and drawing attention from people all around the world. The growing concern surrounding the issue of safe and healthy food choices impacts all walks of life. Whether you are elitist, well-off, middle class, working class, or poor, we all deserve access and education to/about safe and nutrient dense foods. Little by little, people are joining forces and standing up to the big food industry giants. Everyday people are starting to notice the importance of assessable, safe, and nutritious food.
The corporate world does not make it easy on us, and may have you fooled into believing that eating fast food, microwave pizza, and ice cream makes you part of the strong, patriotic backbone of America and, by choosing alternatives to industrial food you are somehow choosing a higher path better than everyone else. This is not true. There are media empires, and corporations throwing billions of dollars (yours by the way) in saturation advertising. Corporate funded think tanks are working tirelessly to help maintain this pseudo created culture of consuming your way to happiness. Sure, eating a hamburger or having ice cream on occasion is part of the American culture, but eating all the chemicals and additives that have been infecting our food system is not part of any culture that truly wants happy, healthy people living in it. This is just another area where everyday citizens need to take a stand and hold each other accountable. Information is available to you and your friends. True information is reaching everyday people and we are starting to no longer rely on what big marketing tells us. Get involved and help support organizations and programs that work to improve our health and economy while creating an environment in which all walks of life have access to the freshest, healthiest food possible.
Next time you think about your food, think about eating organically grown food and locally grown food whenever practical. Don’t let cost stand in your way. Less than 100 years ago people spent around 24% of there disposable income on food. Today we spend around 9% of our disposable income on food. Lifestyle diseases are at there all time high and our consumption of lower priced, cheap, and poor quality food is one of the primary reasons for this increase. By purchasing food that costs you a little more for the amount you get, you will actually fill two needs with one deed. First, you will provide your body with foods loaded with healthy macronutrients, micronutrients and fiber. Second, you will purchase the right amount of food which will keep your total caloric intake in check. Proceeded junk food loaded with sugar and other fillers is addicting. If the price of this type of food continues to go down, it will be no surprise that people will buy more and more. This leads to more and more consumption and a population that is not only overweight, but also undernourished and unhealthy. So, next time you decide to purchase food or go out to dinner, think about the quality and not the quantity. Invest in your health, well-being, and happiness now, or you might find yourself paying for it down the road.

Yours In Fitness!

Anita xx