Category Archives: Food

Food

Slow Food and Its Positive Influence

In a recent conversation with a friend, I learned about an outstanding grassroots organization called Slow Food, whose global actions have inspired and encouraged positive solutions to our broken food systems. It is a wonderful concept that has actually been around for twenty years! With my careful eating habits and passion for good, wholesome and organic foods, I was surprised that this global movement had some how slipped by me.

What exactly is Slow Food?

Slow Food was founded in 1989 in Italy. It began as an idea, as a direct response to the rise of the fast food industry that invaded Europe, and the ever-accelerating pace of life. The founders were concerned about the decline in local traditional foods, and that people did not seem to care what they were eating, how it tastes, or where it came from. There was a growing awareness of a world that relied on monoculture rather than on biodiversity.

Slow Food represents more than just the food we eat. It is a way of life that encompasses a whole lifestyle approach to living a better, cleaner, and a slower life. It embraces how we process and distribute our food, and our relationship to the environment. It promotes a sustainable way of producing the food we eat. They form alliances with other groups, farmers, and businesses that share the same ideals and desires to preserve, develop and promote local economies and responsible food productions. Today, Slow Food has developed into an international organization that is continually adding new nations and local community branches throughout the world. Their outreach programs include food events and fairs that bring producers and consumers together, food and taste education projects, international and local symposiums. They work tirelessly to protect and defend food biodiversity and traditions, and they create new economic models that are put into practice in different regions throughout the world.

Anyone can get involved. You can visit their website and become a member, learn more, and become informed about what is going on. They provide a list of all nation members. In the United States, they are headquartered in New York. Search for your own state, or even local community. That would be the best way to get involved, on the local level.

Food is one of our deepest connections to one another, to the environment, and to all living things. Imagine the bountiful foods set before us, the preparations made with love and care, and the gathering of the clan, the family, and the community. We all come together to share – our food, drink, and good conversation. When we nurture our relationship to the earth that provides us with all this rich variety and bounty – a relationship that is closely bonded in respect and care – we will begin to heal, both our selves and our precious earth.

It feels good to know that there are great things going on in the world. Positive and powerful movements that I feel certain will help lift human consciousness to a higher state of being.

Food

Type 2 Diabetes – More on Why Diabetics Should Buy Organic Food

Organic foods might be slightly higher in price over standard grocery store food varieties, but there are plenty of good reasons why organically grown foods are available. Here is part 2 of the series on why Type 1 and Type 2 diabetics, and non-diabetics, should buy organic foods.

It’s all about nutrition. One very good reason why consumers should choose organic foods is not visible to the naked eye. That’s because it has to do with nutrition. Research shows all foods that are grown organically contain a higher nutritional value than standard grown foods. Scientists believe this is due to what pesticides do to the soil food is growing in. Pesticides strip some of the organic compounds out of the soil, leaving it with less of an ability to properly sustain and nurture plant growth.

With more individuals taking the source of their food more seriously, it has caused the popularity, and the need for organic foods to increase dramatically. What has this done to production? It has meant that just within the last few years, the demand for organically grown foods has risen so fast, there are now certified organic farms located in every state in the nation.

But what does it mean to be considered a “certified organic” product? Only foods that are made up of at least 95 percent organic material can carry this seal. Just being called organic is not always enough. A product that is simply labeled “organic”, while still being better than standard grown foods, is still not quite as safe as being “certified organic”.

An organic food is one that is grown without the use of prohibited substances. What are prohibited substances?” These are things such as radiation, sewage sludge, genetic engineering or what is commonly referred to as being genetically modified foods. Besides abandoning these common practices, organic farmers also use their own techniques for raising crops, including crop rotation and natural composting which keeps plants healthier and allows them to thrive more.

So who buys organic? You might be surprised. According to statistics:

  • Asian Americans,
  • Hispanics, and
  • African-Americans

all buy more organic food than Caucasians.

And buying organic is not reserved for the wealthy. Studies show half of all consumers who regularly purchase organic foods have a household income of less than fifty-thousand dollars per year. Surprisingly enough, the individuals who spend the most on organic food are not the wealthy as most people think: the most common organic shoppers make less than twenty-five thousand a year per household!