the warmth of living simply

the use of grocery stores is thoroughly engrafted into mainstream lifestyles, along with big box retailers such as Wal-Mart and Target, and shopping malls. urban dwellers and small towners alike have all but lost touch with the black stuff underneath our feet- the black stuff that the urbanites rarely get to see because it is covered by concrete and tall buildings.
at the cost of our nutrition, farmers' livelihood, animal rights, environmental duties, and on a deeper level, emotional health, we have gained “ease” and the “convenience” of variety, centrality (location), etc. yet our hearts and souls yearn for something more genuine than food wrapped in plastic, put in a box, and placed on a shelf because it is pumped with so many preservatives that it will be edible for months, if not years. now we are learning the costs of our sacrifice, even though in our ignorance, we let the greedy take over. we are learning in case after case after case that for foods, drugs, and cosmetics, companies barely meet the usda and fda standards.
today, we received news of a recall of 143 million pounds of beef, 37 million of which was purchased for distribution into school lunch programs and nutrition programs. (aside: these are probably for the poor (headstart) and for public schools, mostly attended by African- Americans in places like Chicago, New York, and Marks, MS. the poor are not only less likely to be informed about these matters, but they are also unlikely to be able to afford to purchase quality meat. furthermore, even if they were informed, they face issues such as a lack of time and representation to ensure that they have a significant voice in this broken system). i mainly eat organic fruits, vegetables, and packaged products, and the fact that these breaches of trust happen so often with conventional foods, drugs, and other products forces me to question the quality of usda standards for the organic label!
my family (my child, my husband, and i) are gradually but definitely moving away from the realm of the pre-cut products and the packaged products of he conventional store and into the realm of the raw, live, and uncut. God- willing we can soon return to a simpler life, with simple, genuine people. maybe you can join us.