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What We Eat |
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Posted 3/1/2010 at 12:30 PM by Sam L |
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It dawns on me that when I look into my fridge that even the simpliest of foods such as vegetables pose questions that I can't answer. For example, while I know I will definitely enjoy the red pepper I will be eating soon, I have no idea what went into its production, namely what exactly made it so that its twice the size of a pepper I could grow in my own garden or what cocktail mix of pesticides went into it that made it unappetizing for even bugs...and yet now it will soon be consumed by me..It's somewhat unsettling..
I tend to think I eat pretty healthy and yet not knowing the answers to my questions makes me wonder how healthy is my diet, even if I am eating so-called healthy foods? In the documentary, Food Beware, they reveal that in Europe 70% of cancer is caused by the environment(30% b/c of pollution, 40% b/c of food), and that in France cancer has risen 93% in males in the past 25 years. In response to such alarming trends, many people are choosing to eat healthier, to eat organic. It is a movement that is building, evident in the U.S. by the fact that the organic food industry is the fastest growing food market. As Brad wrote in his recent blog, Voting With Your Wallet, we as the consumers have the power to let stores know what to stock everytime we purchase food. And yet while eating organic seems to be a great start, it doesn't always tell the whole story. There are other pressing questions that should also be addressed. Where is our money going, is it staying within the community? Are we supporting local business or huge corporations? What are the business practices of the food companies we are supporting? What are the resources expended in bringing the food from its original location to my home? As an example, the average American meal travels 1500 miles from the factory to your plate. 1500 miles?! I find that incredible. These questions should be just as important to those eating organic and yet often they are overlooked.
As a result of my questions, I wanted to find a little background into organic food companies and their ownership. Some of it I already knew but other info was really surprising. Here's what I found:
Organic Food Line Ownership
Naked Juice- Pepsi Co.
Odwalla- Coca-Cola
Morningstar Farms- Kellogg
Boca Burger- Kraft
Back to Nature- Kraft
Kashi- Kellogg
Nature's Farm Organic- Tyson
Soy Dream/Rice Dream- Hain Celestial Food
Seeds of Change- General Mills
Muir Glen- General Mills
Dagoba- Hershey
Green & Black Organic- Cadbury
Bear Naked- Kellogg
Gardenburger- Kellogg
Horizon Organic- Dean Foods
Knudsen- Smuckers
Santa Cruz Organics- Smuckers
Burt's Bees- Clorox(this one esp. surprised me)
There are definitely more but this is a good list for now..Surprised anyone? The fact that these organic food companies are owned by huge conglomerates isn't the worst thing if you are only concerned about eating organic, but if you are going for supporting small business or local business, purchasing from these companies isn't exactly going to accomplish what you are going for. Another thing to consider is the business practices of these corporations worldwide. Pepsi and Coca-Cola, for example, have drawn a lot of heat for having pesticide levels in their soft drinks in India that were 30x over the accetable limit and subsequently been banned in several of India's states. Coca-Cola has also drawn criticism in India for polluting and drying up local water sources as well as in Central and South America for various manufactoring plants allowing death squads to come into the plants and publicly murder union organizers as to thwart workers from organizing for improved rights. Are we okay with supporting corporations that engage in such practices?
Within all of this, it becomes abundantly clear how difficult it is to eat with an eye out for all of these elements. Keeping track of the environmental and ecological footprint of food from its production to its transportation, to whether one is supporting local business or some huge corporation, while also looking into the business practices of food companies one is supporting is no easy task...but it is possible...It begins in a way with us not only taking responsibility for what we eat but playing a role in what others eat through informing and educating. I know that there are companies out there that I have purchased from in the past that I stopped doing so because of people informing me on things I didn't know. I know this is a long blog but if folks are still with me, it is my hope that a couple people can add to this and perhaps wake us up to a reality formerly unknown. Whether this is a food company, clothing line, or a cell phone company (We recently learned at a PJ conference that Nokia allowed the Iranian government to hack into ppl's telephone conversations resulting in the imprisonment of many activists in Iran) I hope to become more aware in a time when the disconnect between consumer and producer seems to grow ever deeper, a dangerous trend that can be reversed! If I am voting everytime I make a purchase, than I want to know that my votes are being made for companies that I can stand behind and support.
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