Food Musings: The Bane & Blessing of Food Allergies

I eat in a pretty healthy manner. I cook most of my own meals, and even when I eat out or at other people's homes I'm careful what and how much I eat. [I also keep kosher, so I guess by definition I think a lot about what I eat or don't eat, but it's rote by now--I've been doing it most of my life.]

As you probably know if you've read any of my posts before, over the past few years, I've developed a host of food intolerances/allergies (still not sure which they are yet, still working on that part) and in addition to making sure I eat healthily, I also have to make sure I don't eat things that make me sick.

I've gone through fits and spurts of eating organic, cage-free, preservative free, artificial flavors & ingredients free, home-grown...you get the idea. It's not that I don't care about environmental sustainability, or even the fact that organic, cage-free, or local produce is more expensive or not as accessible; honestly, for better or worse, it's just not in my frame of reference. I buy things without thinking how far my bananas have traveled to get to me, or how the field workers who picked my grapes were treated.

Having food allergies has made me infinitely more mindful about what I'm putting in my mouth because of the ill effects certain things can have on me. But it has also made me think a lot more about food sustainability and food ethics in general, and how the choices I make about food impact others. Sure, I'm only one person, and what kind of environmental impact am I really having by buying bananas that have been shipped from Chile? What point does it make if I buy ethically raised meat? But if everyone thinks like that, then everyone is contributing to problems rather than helping to solve them.

At this point in my life (and budget), I can't commit to completely changing the way I shop and eat; I know it wouldn't stick. But I'm taking small steps to buy more local produce, ethically raised meat, and free trade items, and plan to incrementally adapt my habits in the long term.

Food allergies have made my life complicated, but they've also opened my eyes to how the choices I make about food can have a significant impact on more than just myself. Silver lining, I guess?

(This blog post is also posted on the Jew & the Carrot, which has lots of information about food security, food sustainability, and Jewish ethics)

The Penny Pincher's Dilemma

I am not independently wealthy, I work for a non-profit and I live in an expensive city, so I stick to a pretty strict food budget. I am in constant struggle with my frugal side that really wants to buy things as cheap as possible, and my eco- & ethical-conscious side that really wants to buy organic, sustainable, home-grown and humanely harvested products.

Unfortunately, the words "organic," "sustainable," "home-grown," and "humane" and the like usually add a significant amount to the price tag. In fact, if I only bought items that fell into those categories I could easily double (if not triple) my food expenditures.

So what to do? I haven't yet come up with a good answer. In a perfect world, I would have enough resources to spend on food that matches my consciousness to sustainability and ethical treatment of animals, but right now that just isn't a reality for me. Yes, people do make it work when things are a priority, it just happens that I have other priorities that take precedence right now. Does that make me a bad person?

Food for Thought (& a Shameless Plug)

Thanksgiving is a time to look around and be thankful for all that we have. It's also a time to look and see where the gaps are, and how we can help fill them.

My friend AK is involved in a fantastic organization called Epic Change. Last Thanksgiving, Epic Change launched a program called TweetsGiving, a 48-hour celebration of gratitude and giving that successfully raised over $10,000 to build a classroom in Arusha, Tanzania.

This year, proceeds of TweetsGiving will help raise funds to build a dormitory/orphanage, library, school cafeteria and additional classrooms. And those children who learn in the classroom built from the funds of last year's TweetsGiving--they'll be participating in full force using the new technology lab Epic Change helped them set up this Fall.

There are TweetsGiving celebrations happening all over the world, and hopefully in an area near you! Check out the locations here; if you already have Thanksgiving plans or can't find an event in your area, take a minute to donate to this wonderful cause.