Feeling a bit trapped with modern lifestyle

[JWG223]

I've done some looking around, and it is insanely difficult (impossible) to actually be a healthy person, support what you agree with, etc.

GMO's in the food.
Corporate monopoly.
Hormones in plants, even, etc.

A few months back (6-8?), I decided to eat organic. It costs about the same, and the food tastes better to me. Well, I have been eating more and more organic as time has gone by. I started with meat, and now buy organic eggs, fruits, vegetables, and now even butter, etc.

But the sweetener for my coffee...the coffee itself.

Then the questions of...is organic really organic? Who also do these organic farms throw their lot in with, if anyone?

I kindof feel like we are stuck in a mess of GMO engineered foods laced with crap we don't need. Full of chemicals proven to cause health issues.

Now, I am not nutty and wearing hemp boxers and going to boycott Kroger and all that jazz. I just want to know, short of a local Farmer's Market, if anyone else has contemplated just how jacked up the crap we are pretty much forced to put in our bodies is, and how much extreme effort must go into avoiding eating that stuff? Not to mention politics and Monsantos and other mega-corporations strong-arming the industry, paying off the FDA, and ram-rodding known poisons through approval and into foods.

It's got me a bit frustrated on my path to betterment.

 

[SVTFreak]

It's hard as hell. Especially when most of that stuff isn't labeled to contain things like that.

Best advice I've found is try to shop the outside aisles if the supermarket. Skipping processed meats, of course.

 

[CHW2021]

Excess hormones on cow milk, chemical fertilizers, pesticides, additives, and all are kinda scary. If you want "clean" foods either grow them yourself or get in with the local farmers at the farmers markets, they like regular customers.
Organic eggs? Talk to a local guy that has chickens, same idea; he may even sell dead chickens to good customers.

Try hunting for meat for the freezer, free range pork is out there.

Personally, I quit caring, I'm probably not going to decompose for years after I'm buried with all the accumulated preservatives ect.. that I have consumed in my life. Lord knows I used Merthiolate on cuts for years and been exposed to enough lead to cause brain damage; I suppose I'm lucky to be alive and not have mutated. If the government tells me something is unsafe and takes it off the market should I start trusting them now?

 

[deuxlatch]

I've been wrestling with this same topic lately. I started researching what other, more "healthy" countries eat and was surprised at my findings. How many overweight Brazilians have you met? Or Japanese for that matter, other than Sumo wrestlers? Lots of natural fish, fruits and veggies, very few "processed" foods. I've started substituting quinoa for rice, limiting my processed food intake, forgoing breads and grains for fruits and veggies and drinking as much water as I possibly can throughout the day. I just started this a couple weeks ago and it took some adjusting but so far so good. I've noticed my energy levels have risen and I seem to not crave the sugars anymore. I'm going to try and see if I can procure some vinison from a friend of mine because I refuse to buy meat from a grocery store.

 

[Malachi]

Personally, I quit caring, I'm probably not going to decompose for years after I'm buried with all the accumulated preservatives ect.. that I have consumed in my life.

scary! but funny, but true! :-(

 

[3fifty7]

Go Amish.

 

[CHW2021]

OK, to be serious, start reading the food labels on your packaged products. I mean it. The "natural" products actually can contain more additives and fats than "cheap normal" items. The foods almost all have labels for additives, look at how many sneak in sugars/substitutes or sweeteners, look for the order listed on the label; that is in order of magnitude in the product.
Canned peaches, light has more preservatives and additives than packed in juice; but not all brands. Same with peanut butter.
As Deuxlatch points out, cut the processed carbs from breads/grains, more protein and veggies than bulk like rice or flour. Buy fresher local products like Steens Syrup or Stansels rice; buy your shrimp from the local guy; but above all READ FOOD LABELS!

 

[Hattrick 22]

I've been making some changes to still working on some of the processed meats mainly smoked sausage. Got three chickens of my own now which is nice having fresh yard eggs not to mention my family likes getting them too when I have over flow.

What gets me is the price difference for trying to make healthier choices...

 

[petingrass]

You dont really need to be concerned about GMOs. You don't really need to be concerned about pesticides either as long as you're washing your fruits and vegetables before eating them, Particularly if you're going to eat the skin. You should be concerned about the use of unnecessary antibiotics for livestock even if you don't eat the meat from them; since most antibiotics in the US Are used on livestock They are huge contributor to antibiotic resistant bacteria.

 

[Bosco]

I'm a bit confused. Life expectancy and quality of life is at an all time high in the history of humanity. Why is the modern lifestyle such a bad experience for you that you feel trapped in it?

Is trying to get away from GMOs, corporate monopolies, and hormones in plants really that important in the grand scheme of things?

 

[deuxlatch]

I'm a bit confused. Life expectancy and quality of life is at an all time high in the history of humanity.

Agreed. But I think if we keep going the way we are then our quality of life will start a downward spiral. This country has enjoyed it's milk-n-honey for years but I really fear for our next generations.

 

[olivs260]

Agreed. But I think if we keep going the way we are then our quality of life will start a downward spiral. This country has enjoyed it's milk-n-honey for years but I really fear for our next generations.

Quality of life is definitely decreasing, and diet has something to do with it. As for life expectancy, yes, we're living into our 80's and beyond, but are we really healthy? I know my 93-yr-old great aunt who can barely get out of bed would have died twenty years ago without modern medicine. I love having her around, but when I see her I ask myself if I really want to live through that.

 

[Bosco]

Agreed. But I think if we keep going the way we are then our quality of life will start a downward spiral. This country has enjoyed it's milk-n-honey for years but I really fear for our next generations.

The bigger problem I see is feeding the next generations. Our numbers are growing so large we have to rely heavily on science to make the existing food supply larger and more bountiful. If we didn't have genetically modified crops, we wouldn't be able to harvest as much if a lot was destroyed by insects and disease. If they didn't modify livestock to allow them to grow faster and provide more meat, we might not have enough to feed the current population.

Quality of life is definitely decreasing, and diet has something to do with it. As for life expectancy, yes, we're living into our 80's and beyond, but are we really healthy? I know my 93-yr-old great aunt who can barely get out of bed would have died twenty years ago without modern medicine. I love having her around, but when I see her I ask myself if I really want to live through that.

I don't understand how you can say quality of life is decreasing. If someone has a poor diet (ie eating fast food 4 times a day) and becomes obese, it's because they made extremely poor choices. Eating organic cage free chicken instead of hormone filled chicken isn't going to drastically change things.

Did your 93 year old great aunt take care of herself? Did she smoke or drink? Did she exercise daily? Did she workout with weights? Did she maintain a healthy diet (not organic/gmo free/etc but healthy vs fatty)? I think those factors are more important than the ones you are concerned with.

 

[kz45]

How about we eat our crops instead of turning it into fuel, would that help the food supply?

 

[Labeeman]

Don't believe all the hype and fanfare about organic food and its health benefits compared to conventionally grown crops. As far as nutrition goes the difference is so small that its not worth worring about. Also just because it says its organic doesn't mean it is. Just like everything in life you have honest people and you have people who will do anything to make a buck and the organic market is on fire right now and is commanding premium prices. The rules and regulations are so ridiculous that most farmers can't understand them and even less can actually implement them. As far as pesticides go, just like the above member mentioned this is nothing to worry about either. There is a common misconception that farmers love to spray pesticides and in large amounts on the products they grow. This is so far from the truth that its ridiculous. Most pesticides are expensive and because of this no farmer is just spraying them to spray them. They are like any other business and cut corners where they can. It makes no sense for them to be spraying large amounts of pesticides that cost hundreds of dollars a gallon just to do it. Should you wash your fruits and veggies, certainly, there are lots of nasty stuff like ecoli that can make you sick as hell. Also remember that out laboratories are so sophisticated now adays that they are picking up residues at parts per billion which doesnt amount to squat as far as human heath goes. Am I against organic farming, no, but I'm definitely against this hugh movement that has somehow brainwashed a lot of people into thinking that they can't be healthy unless it's organic. That is total BS. Like someone else said eat less processed foods in reasonable amounts, get off the couch and exercise more, and drink lots of water. To me it's more important to support your local farmers and local businesses and if they happen to do it organically great, but a nice carrot or strawberry grown conventionally is good for me and good for you too.

 

[deuxlatch]

Granted more people today sit behind a computer and don't get the full body workout of manual labor that they used to get. There was a time when you ate bacon and eggs every morning but your body burned it off. I've always had a problem with my weight so I have to be very selective on what I eat because I sit at a desk all day. I have to "make" time to get exercise. I purchased a new flat screen TV a couple weeks ago and have yet to watch it because I try to keep myself doing something outside.

 

[GunRelated]

I've done some looking around, and it is insanely difficult (impossible) to actually be a healthy person, support what you agree with, etc.

GMO's in the food.
Corporate monopoly.
Hormones in plants, even, etc.

A few months back (6-8?), I decided to eat organic. It costs about the same, and the food tastes better to me. Well, I have been eating more and more organic as time has gone by. I started with meat, and now buy organic eggs, fruits, vegetables, and now even butter, etc.

But the sweetener for my coffee...the coffee itself.

Then the questions of...is organic really organic? Who also do these organic farms throw their lot in with, if anyone?

I kindof feel like we are stuck in a mess of GMO engineered foods laced with crap we don't need. Full of chemicals proven to cause health issues.

Now, I am not nutty and wearing hemp boxers and going to boycott Kroger and all that jazz. I just want to know, short of a local Farmer's Market, if anyone else has contemplated just how jacked up the crap we are pretty much forced to put in our bodies is, and how much extreme effort must go into avoiding eating that stuff? Not to mention politics and Monsantos and other mega-corporations strong-arming the industry, paying off the FDA, and ram-rodding known poisons through approval and into foods.

It's got me a bit frustrated on my path to betterment.

Just got through talking about this very subject the other day. You are right, and IMO there is no way any of us can go a full day without being exposed to some sort of chemical/poison. I have come to the conclusion that we are better off not thinking about it, and just doing our best to stay healthy and living a happy, stress free life. I came to this conclusion because dwelling on things that worry you, **** you off, and/or things you know you can't change almost always brings negative effects.

The FDA, and food corps are no better than the feds and big banks. If there is a hell, they will all be going there.

 

[RedStickChick]

Some foods are better organic, and some aren't. Honestly, I'd rather buy from a local farmer's market where I can go, meet the people who grow the food and talk to them about it.

Oh, and here's a lil eye-opening information I just found.

 

[general mills]

I am in agreement that eating chemical free/no GMO foods will have less of an effect on your health than not smoking, not drinking in excess, and maintain a healthy body mass index. Staying away from processed foods and dinners in boxes and bags will help the BMI thing.

I do feel trapped by a modern lifestyle, but it has more to do with the constant advertisement bombardment, pharmaceutical of the month that you need to ask your doctor for, 24 hour, 7 day a week philosophy. I don't think that 10 years of night shift has helped the last one at all.

 

[I_FLY_LOW]

Go Amish.

What do they taste like?