Baby steps.
I grew up on a farm. We ate fresh vegetables from our garden all summer and throughout the winter we ate vegetables that we either froze (corn) or canned (green beans, tomatoes, etc.) ourselves. I suppose we were mostly organic, who knew it was the ‘thing to be’. My dad has a large number of acres that he farms and he is the owner and operator of a seed company. Yes, he puts chemicals on the crops – we’d all starve if he didn’t.
I crave farm fresh things. A year ago we started having our milk delivered to our house. Addison consumes a large amount of whole milk each day and I want it to be fresh and tasty for her. We were paying $50 a week for preemie formula so the ‘real milk in real glass bottles’ that is delivered to our house each week is still less expensive (by far). I adore farmer’s markets – not only because they offer a wide variety of fresh items but because they support the local farmer.
I think it is interesting to note the difference between farm fresh milk and organic milk. The biggest difference between the milk that is delivered to our house by the wonderful folks at Oberweis Dairy and organic milk is the treatment of the cows. Organic milk requires that the cow be antibiotic free for upwards of 2 years. This means that if an cow has an infection the owner cannot give that cow antibiotics and still consider the milk to be organic. The farmer must keep the cow on hand for two years (without a profit) in order to start selling the organic milk again. Most farmers cannot absorb the cost of doing this and therefore the cow is sent to the slaughter house. If an Oberweis cow becomes ill the cow is given an antibiotic, watched until it becomes healthy, and checked regularly until the milk is completely antibiotic free. The farmer receives monetary compensation for the milk during the time that the cow is ill. It is actually to the benefit of the farmer to ensure that the cow is completely healthy before selling the milk again.
The ironic thing to me is that most people assume that the organic milk is the most humane milk. I actually eat lots of organic things on a regular basis. Not because they are organic but because they don’t contain things like high fructose corn syrup and/or hydrogenated oils. I’m not vegetarian. I love Snickers bars and sour cream & onion chips. I crave bread. And so it’s all about the baby steps. b and I try to make healthy choices in what we eat at home. We encourage healthy eating habits for Addison. Rigidity is unnecessary and unrealistic but guidelines are important.
Hopefully we’ll be healthier in the future for our choices today.
And I am hungry (and thirsty).
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