As unhealthy as many Americans have become in their mental state—anti-science, climate change denial, gun-crazy, racist, fundamentalist—their bodies are in even worse condition. Such a large percentage of us is overweight, and some even morbidly obese. And it’s pretty much accepted as status quo.
A rapacious corporate influence on our agriculture and food sourcing has led directly to this. Junk food for the masses is what’s available, and it’s chock full of high-fructose corn syrup, genetically-modified, antibiotic-laden, inhumanely-raised animals. Federal inspection is a joke, and right-wing state legislators pass ag-gag laws to stifle potential whistle-blowers. The only way to solve this problem is to opt out.
I don’t buy their crap if I can help it. Instead, I go to our local food co-op, and although their prices are higher, they pay their workers a living wage and give them health insurance. I meet my neighbors at our farmer’s market every Saturday, and buy the week’s groceries that have come from fields and farms less than 10 miles away. Chickens who grew up ranging free in pastures, grass-fed beef, organic tomatoes and cabbages and zucchinis and lettuces and herbs and sweet potatoes and oh my.
Then I bring it home and make scrumptious meals with it.
Americans need to learn how to eat better. They need to understand the deleterious effects the corporate food system creates for them. They need to plant their own gardens and harvest what they grow. Spreading this news into the cultural consciousness is one of my primary passions.
michael j nolan 