Food Thoughts

I think it may be common that when one makes a major change in lifestyle, it cause an evaluation of related aspects to that change.  Going gluten free has meant that I am searching out alternative or safe varieties of the food I eat.  While the main focus has been gluten, I have also looked a little bit into the organic issue with meats and produce.  While organic growing methods may be better for the environment, I am not sure they are necessarily better for people, or if the extra cost is worth what benefit there is.  What has concerned me more is the factory-like process of raising animals for food.  There is a lot emotion tied up with this issue, and I really don't think it is helpful to hang a lot of emotional baggage to raising animals for food.  Whether or not a cow is happy or contented gets be silly in its descriptions on products.  The point to me is that we see animals as living beings, not as machines.  A cow should live as a cow is intended to live--the same with chickens, or pigs, or fish.  The mass production of animals doesn't benefit us at all ethically or food-wise.  So I have decided that if I can going to put extra grocery money toward anything, it will be toward finding companies that show respect to the animals they raise for food.  I am seeing more of these kinds of products coming into our local grocery stores, and I am checking out the brands on line to see whether there is actual substance to their claims or if it is just using words as a marketing tool.

 
As far as produce, my main source of organic will be our garden.  It is small, so we don't grow a big variety of things, but we do enjoy what we do grow.  I am not a gardener in that I don't enjoy working with plants, so the garden is much like my house work.  I don't mind doing it so much, but it is more the result than the process that keeps me motivated in it. 

My baking experiments are seeing some success--hope to post some more recipes soon.