The "What I Learned" post

The past three (and a half) days have been...well, interesting. It has absolutely been a rewarding experience. I have genuinely loved being creative with cooking; by finding ways to season food and add flavor sans the usual (salt, pepper, garlic powder). I have been reminded of how great farm fresh produce is and the quality of said produce compared to store bought. My digestive system has also found purely local eating rewarding. I've also lost three pounds (which I'm sure will be gained back after this weekend. Hello cinnamon rolls, bleu cheese cream sauce, and Pig Out!).
But, I knew that my strength was wavering. I lay in bed, at 2:44 yesterday morning thinking about, well, food. I figured when cravings are THAT intense, it's better to give in then to loose complete control (says the handout from my former nutritionist). My Locavore demise was pretty much premeditated at that point. I knew I would get through the morning/afternoon, but end it when Jeffrey came home, which is why I consider that I have made it through three and a half days...definitely more than I thought.
Plus, eating beef (and one day of pork) was really getting old and monotonous...chicken is definitely needed. Also, I have never eaten so many vegetables in my life. I hate cucumbers and still despise eggplant and green peppers.

The film Fresh definitely reiterated my want to continuously support not only local farms, but sustainable agriculture. It's distressing how monopolized the meat packing industry is. This is definitely not something I've thought about since reading Fast Food Nation about 3 years ago. I should e-mail Dr. Florio...
It was also mentioned that every dollar we spend is like a vote. Sadly, I vote at/for Wal-Mart. It takes me less than twenty minutes to drive to W-M, pick up a box of Little Debbie's, and be back home. And, this can be done at any time. Hooray for Supercenters!? It's kind of embarrassing to admit to oneself...that I have lost control over where my (or Jeffrey's) dollars are going...to a mega-corporation that not only strong arms businesses to sell their products (or they refuse to carry it) but forces out local grocery stores (case in point: Jim's Food liner in my high school town, Pratt Kansas). I wonder if shopping at the commissary would be better? Even still, is going without Fudge Brownies really THAT much of a sacrifice?
One of the opening quotes of the movie stated that "Americans are afraid of one thing: inconvenience." I believe this derives out of the general fear of the unknown. As a generation, we have never known what it was like to HAVE to be self-reliant and self-producing. We've grown up on TV dinners, PB&J, and being soothed over break-ups with Ben and Jerry's. I also think it's a comfort thing, which just feeds into the addiction to packaged and processed goods.
However, I am still not buying into (ha, literally) the Organic eating stuff. Just because you throw a fancy label on produce and jack up the price, doesn't mean that it's necessarily better or that there's no long-term effects on the environment, hence the difference between Organic and Sustainable agriculture. Also, I've always thought that seeing an organically labeled TV dinner seemed...hypocritical. As the organic craze has gotten...well, blown up, it seems that it's the next thing to be industrially increased, thus losing the original values of the organic ideals and continuing the cycle.

It also brought back memories of my childhood. My Aunt Mary and Uncle Don owned a dairy farm in Pennsylvania. After watching the film I am proud to say that they used Sustainable Dairy Farming, where the cows were grazed (grass-fed). I remember going to their farm and getting water from the well, collecting cow teeth with my sister, and watching cow births (I vividly recall the first time I watched the vet come and "check" to see if a cow was pregnant).
I loved my Aunt's decorating style because the entire house was filled with antiques. She was an avid collector and I believe that's where my love of vintage came from. There really isn't anything better than homemade butter pecan ice cream. Sadly, the government wanted to build a highway where their farm was so they lost the house that had been in our family since William Penn gave the land to my great-great-great grandfather. I visited their "new" house back in 2005 and it just wasn't the same. Many things were similar, but it made me sad. I yearned for the days when I had a cow named after me and I would go up and down the rows looking for "Stephanie Cow". Ahh, nostalgia.



[edit] On a side-note, I found this bag to be particularly exciting (pun not intended). Sorry, Mom; it's 5 AM and you know how easily amused I get when I don't sleep...