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Join the Foodie Evolution

There is a movement underway towards better eating. One but can’t help notice with all the urban farmer’s markets, organic food products, healthier restaurants, Whole Foods branches, etc popping up all over the place. People have been waking up and seeing that things have gotten pretty funky when it comes to our food -- that “progress” has come with a big price with processed foods and industrial food systems wreaking havoc on the health of citizens (e.g. high rates of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity, etc) , our local communities, and the global environment.

Change takes place one eater at a time. Sometimes people change because health issue arise, because they are getting older and realize they can’t get away with eating like they used to, or because they have children and feel both responsible and alarmed by what they are feeding them. Family and friends and what we see and read in the media can have a big influence. For many as was the case for me, it’s been a gradual journey towards better eating through a series of small decisions and changes versus a personal diet revolution. Old habits die hard and one doesn’t necessarily need to completely give up the “unhealthy” foods that we love, like potato chips and ice cream for me.

I want to share with the FoodieLink community some of the changes I’ve made over the last few years and what motivated me to make them. I’d like to offer these up as “ food for thought” and ask you to comment on this posting and share what you have done and why?!

Moving to organic milk instead of regular milk: hearing about the problems of bovine growth hormones, antibiotics fed to cows, and use of pesticides and fertilizers for growing fodder. Also, organic milk has been proven to have more Omega 3, Vitamins, CLA, and antioxidents.

Eating more whole vegetables and fruit – and buying organic more and more: reading Omnivore’s Dilemma and The China Study made me much more aware of the problems of our high animal protein diet which, as The China Study points out, is largely the cause of high rates in cancer and heart disease.

Buying Grass Fed Beef instead of beef from cattle: learning about and seeing how factory farmed cows are raised, fed, and treated in movies and books and understanding the health benefits of beef from grass fed beef including significantly less “bad” fat (1/2 to 1/3 as much) and more Omega-3 fatty acids. Grass Fed Beef is also nice on the palette and possesses a richer, heartier taste that I have begun to really appreciate.

Buying only wilds salmon: I knew farmed salmon fisheries are causing environmental problems. That was reinforced reading the recent FoodieNews posting by Chris about Target Stores no longer sourcing and selling farm raised salmon but only selling wild salmon.

Turning down “Chilean Sea Bass”. It has been my favorite fish and one I love the taste of but hearing it’s "severely over-fished and rated avoid" by the Monterey Bay Seafood Watch has kept me from ordering it recently, including last night when it was a tempting special of the night. Not sure that I will never have it again – hard to give up your favorite fish especially when you love seafood like I do.

Eating Organic Wild Rice: Through conversations with the passionate the head of Goose Valley Rice and eating some samples she gave me, I quickly appreciated the flavor and significant [health benefits of Wild Rice] (http://food.families.com/blog/the-wonders-of-wild-rice) such as much higher fiber and protein levels than conventional rice like the Uncle Ben’s I’ve had since being a kid.

What have you started to do to eat better? Please comment and share?