Have you made any changes with your shopping or eating lately?
Hardly a week seems to pass without a new recall or other distressing news about the safety of our food (waterboarding sick cattle?). Has anyone recently made any changes to the way you shop and/or eat?
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11 Comments:
I've been affected by 2 recent recalls, and I'm not happy. We didn't keep too much processed stuff around anyway, but I'm ready to kick it all out of my house now. (I am aware that produce has also been recalled, but I am not in the position to grow any food, much less all of it).
I also had a dream recently where I was taking care of a pig, and it reminded me that they are highly intelligent animals. I'm not ready to go vegetarian, or even all that interested, but I am determined to buy only meat that has been raised with the greatest of care and respect. That most likely means I'll be eating very little meat, with my budget, but it's really struck me. Thankfully, my husband is in full agreement. And, in my basic idea of biology, I'm still okay with eating fish, as long as it gets a green light from Monterey Bay, etc.
Underscoring all of this is a limited budget and bursting food prices. Fun. But as far as I understand, this is simply what real food costs, no? (again, unable to grow any of my own).
renzata at 6:48PM on 03/12/08
Definitely--I no longer eat meat and I've cut almost all dairy (due to my lactose intolerance), processed foods, and non-whole grains from my diet. I've also taken to baking much more often with organic natural sweeteners, like maple syrup and honey. It's all working out great so far.
Christina at 10:39PM on 03/12/08
Nothing changed here...
Cassaendra at 7:34AM on 03/13/08
Affected more by rising costs than anything else.
Barbara Hanson at 9:48AM on 03/13/08
After reading "In Defense of Food" I'm buying much less processed food and more fruit and vegetables (especially greens.)
I do buy meat from smaller, local sources when I can.
SSMom at 10:30AM on 03/13/08
The recent beef recall and the video footage (I normal think PETA goes over the top, but I was very glad for that footage) was the last straw for me. Not too become a vegetarian but, as Renzata said, to only purchase meat that has been humanely raised. And for my budget, that definitely means eating less meat.
However, I was very impressed with the results of that decision. For instance, I purchased a whole free range chicken from my local butcher and roasted it. I made a chicken stew out of half the meat (which, being single, fed me for 3 or 4 days and I have a serving left in the freezer) and chicken salad out of the other half. The skin and bones are sitting in my freezer, waiting to be made into stock. I'm aware that I could have done all of that with a commercial chicken, but it was the higher cost of the free range bird that caused me to really make an effort to make the most of it.
I can't afford to be ethically or environmentally perfect with everything that goes into my mouth - I wouldn't be able to eat fruit and vegetables if I only bought organic. But the meat and eggs thing is something that's definitely do-able.
LizNYC at 11:43AM on 03/13/08
LizNYC, you seem to have almost identical circumstances as I do. The hardest part for me, I think, is adjusting with my husband: single would have been no problem, as I can be strict with rationing my leftovers, but he can eat half a chicken without thinking about it.
I know that the free range organic chickens are fairly widespread these days, but I'm more worried now about sourcing beef (I see grass-fed steaks, but I don't eat much steak and it's way out of my price range: I'm more interested in roasts and stews) and pork (ditto).
For the produce, I at least try to stick with what I remember from that top 10 list a few months back. But now that I google it, I see many top 10 lists with different items (spinach, peaches, green beans, and apples are constant).
renzata at 3:07PM on 03/13/08
I used to buy Chinese ramen at a discount store in our subway concourse beneath my office building. After seeing the news and finding out how dicey their quality control is, I stopped buying it.
BITTER at 3:41PM on 03/13/08
With 55 staring me in the face -- and it isn't a pretty face at all -- I'm trying to add more fruits and vegetables to my diet to counteract some recent body changes. Am having more trouble with the fruit part, so lately have taken to adding fruits and nuts to mixed green salads with the standard homemade vinaigrette. Less coffee, more teas, and lots and lots of bottled water. Oh, I still manage to have the occasional baked potato with butter and sour cream for dinner, and am a sucker for breakfast burritos with lots of cheese and green chile; but awareness is the first step. That, and staying away from beer, my body just ain't happy with it any more.
hatlady at 3:57PM on 03/13/08
Recalls and scandals with spinach and sprouts and juice just make me more committed to buying locally from vendors and growers I know personally. When there is face to face contact, we keep each other accountable.
FigswithBri at 3:59PM on 03/13/08
Forgive me. Once again I failed to digest the basic question. Pun intended. Avoiding spinach and beef, looking forward to the farmer's market starting back up in the small community I call home.
hatlady at 5:31PM on 03/13/08