Technology has been good to us. Those of us who have embraced it have been richly rewarded with revolutionary freedoms the likes of which our great grandparents or even our grandparents could never have imagined. It has afforded us the freedom from ignorance, poverty and boredom. It graciously allows us almost total freedom of expression and has provided us with all of the creature comforts our ancient ancestors could not even have dreamed of. What technology, in all of it’s glory, has not delivered us from, is freedom from disease. Chronic illness and disease has reached epic proportions in all parts of the world, including the most advanced cultures such as our own.
Technology brought with it some unexpected accomplices, such as fast foods, processed foods, packaged foods, food like substances masquerading as food, vending machines on every corner and yes, even health food stores. We’ve experienced a radical departure from the whole foods our ancestors consumed to nourish themselves. Whole foods that include healthy fruits and vegetables, seeds, nuts, humanely and sustainably raised animals that provided valuable sources of protein and fresh dairy products, not to mention the tried and true tradition of raw food consumption. Our technological equivalent of these foods are now refined sugar, soda, refined carbohydrates, toxic seed oils such as soybean oil, canola oil, corn oil, margarine, foods in a box, foods in a bag, canned foods, candy disguised as children’s cereal, five dollar cups of designer coffee infused with sugary syrups and the list goes on. With all of this, we have passively experienced the departure from food preparation and the rich cultural environment it bestowed on families and friends of past generations. Time in the kitchen, time at the table and a sense of fellowship and celebration to give thanks has become an opportunity we now only afford ourselves during the holidays.
We can, however, utilize this technology to our advantage in order to educate ourselves in the lost art of choosing and consuming nutrient dense food. We now know that our current generation of children 10 and under is not likely to live as long as their parents. What could be a more compelling case to re-examine the food we choose to eat for ourselves and our children? We can’t overcome the corporate and factory food Dictocrats from the top down. We have to hit them in the wallet. We do that by making informed and educated choices when we shop. We see this happening now right in front of our eyes at the grass roots level with the expansion of the organic food aisles in the grocery stores. These expansions aren’t the results of speculation from stockholders and corporate boards but from the growing demand for nutrient dense food from you, the consumer.
My hopes are that I can push and prod all of you through this blog to make these smarter choices. Choices you make for yourself, your family and your friends. Let’s not forget that we are not born broken and our bodies are nothing short of a miracle when we enter this world. As Sally Fallon so eloquently stated in her book, Nourishing Traditions, “Let’s not forget that our natural state is one of balance, wholeness and vitality.”
MB
