Eating for Evolution

I came across this great article in the Huffington Post about how trendy wellness has become and how research is finding there is definitely a correlation between income, location and health.  No doubt there needs to be a change in how we run our food industry and the choices we make around raising the products we consume.  It’s something that for those of us with the luxury of being well informed about food and have the means and resources to make more wholesome choices, need to really grapple with and consider the personal implications. I think when we do, when we take that first step of considering how our behavior contributes to the industry in a very tangible way, we can begin to see that whatever personal hardships we may face in changing our diet or overcoming food/drug addictions are just a small price to pay for the good of the greater whole- the whole of humanity. 

I’ve been thinking about what it must have been like to be any of the great leaders of our past, like Martin Luther King, Gahandi, etc.  What must they have felt pursuing their passions so fiercely because they could see there was a better way to live.  I can hardly imagine the challenges they were faced from society and from within their own self.  I remember as a young girl learning about the great men and women whose radical audacity gave way for higher values to penetrate and shape culture.  Of course I didn’t have those words for it then, but I do remember thinking these people must be special, that they were just born somehow different than I was, and that I was never meant to be great because I was simply lacking whatever specialness was needed.  I think this is actually a common assumption our culture upholds.  It’s like we’ve forgotten that greatness is only born with great effort.  We’ve settled for mediocrity, waiting for a superhero to arrive.  I think it’s interesting to see how deep this belief really goes,  because on the surface I think most of us would rationally say that we don’t believe in superheroes, or that we don’t believe that we’ve settled for mediocrity.  But what do our actions and choices align with?  Are you waiting or are you acting?  Are you holding yourself accountable for your choices, or are you letting them slide off as not really that big of a deal?

We are the ones, each and every one of us, who have the capacity and the power to make a difference.  I think it was Michael Pollan who said in the movie Food, Inc. that every time we stand at the checkout line and pass a food over the scanner, we’re placing a vote.  I guess the question it comes down to is what am I/you voting for?

-Amber