FOOD INC. the DVD

We Vote Three Times a Day

What Food, Inc. confirmed for me — and how far our family has come at the dinner table.

I have to give this one my highest recommendation: watch the DVD, or read the book, Food, Inc. It put words and proof to everything I’d been reading for years — and everything my own gut had been quietly telling me every time I ate meat that hadn’t come from a clean, organic source. It didn’t just inform me. It validated me.

And it’s got me reflecting on just how far our family has come.

The Christmas dinner everyone said was crazy

Three years ago, my husband and his business partner merged their two companies into one. To welcome all the newly combined employees, I volunteered to cook Christmas dinner for the whole crew. And at my suggestion, we — the owners and administrators — put together a menu of organic steak and king crab legs (not the healthiest choice, I’ll admit, since crab is a scavenger), organic potatoes, organic salads, the works.

I remember every doubt and worry beforehand: What on earth will the employees think? But it turned out to be a huge success. Everyone brought their families, everyone loved the food, and the whole night carried this warm, family feeling I hadn’t dared to expect. Crazy? Sure. But it worked.

When my husband opened the evening, he stood up and told the room, “I want all of you to know that the meat you’re eating came from happy cows.” And in my head I finished the thought: — cows that ate grass and roamed freely, the way God intended. I even thought of the one employee who was a vegetarian; I loved knowing that even though he was surrounded by meat-eaters that night, the meat on every plate had come from animals that were genuinely well cared for.

How far I’ve come

This year, the company Christmas party was held at a well-known restaurant in the area — and it struck me, standing there, how much I’ve changed. When all the different meat options were laid out in front of me, I felt absolutely no desire to taste a single one of them.

I’ve learned too much about how that meat is typically raised and handled — how the animals are treated, what they’re fed, and the spoilage and bacteria that can come along for the ride — and knowing all of that, “No, thank you” came easily. I honestly can’t remember the last time I bought meat at a regular grocery store. Every bit of meat we bring home now is organic, from farmers we know and trust by name.

There’s one story from the film I can’t shake — a mother who lost her little boy after he ate contaminated meat, with the recall coming a full fifteen days after he had already died. When my kids heard that, they looked up at me and said they were grateful we buy “the healthy food.” Yes, sweethearts, I told them — it costs more. But your lives are worth that extra precaution, every single time.

A big thank-you to the people who made that film — and a big shame on the giant companies denying us the simple right to know what we’re really eating. (I’ll save the rest of that rampage for a later blog.)

The last non-organic bite

I’m happy to say the last piece of non-organic chicken I ate was cooked for me over a year ago, by a kind woman who was making me dinner. I can still picture the color and texture of that meat — it looked genuinely unappetizing to me — so I took the smallest portion I could tuck into my tortilla and left it at that. Ever since, whenever that same sweet friend offers to make me “something special,” I simply volunteer to bring the meat myself. Problem solved, feelings intact, everybody happy.

We can do something about this — three times a day

Here’s what gives me hope: as consumers, we get to weigh in on the food system three times a day. Every meal is a vote. And you don’t have to overhaul everything overnight. Start small, and let it build.

• Buy a little more organic every time you shop.
• Make more meat-free dishes — work your way down to red meat just once or twice a week…then less and less.
• When you do buy meat, choose organic, from a farmer you trust, whenever you possibly can.
• Buy organic eggs.
• If clean raw milk isn’t available where you are, consider going dairy-free.
• And when you do enjoy that occasional organic bite of meat, eat it with reverence and gratitude — the way I believe God intended it to be received.

Every one of those small choices adds up. Every cart, every meal, every “no, thank you” and every grateful “yes” is a quiet vote for the kind of food — and the kind of world — we want for our children.

Thank you — and remember:

We CAN make a difference!

With love and conviction,

Steffi E.