All for a Chicken Nugget

So, we just watched Food, Inc. I have been putting this off for awhile. Some friends of mine watched it and turned vegan on me. I can't help it that I love steak. and chicken. and ham. and BACON. so I've put it off. But you know, I need to deal with this.

The most compelling points of the movie were:
1. The way they treat the workers at these meat plants. Where is Upton Sinclair when you need him?
2. The story on beef made the point that by changing the natural diet of cows, they get sicker and the ecoli grows faster. The narrator makes the point that by letting those same cows graze on grass for just 5 weeks the problem would self correct. But the industry feeds them corn because they gain weight faster (note to self, avoid corn) and can be slaughtered sooner. So instead of feeding them the healthy, self-correcting grass they....invent an ammonia they can inject in the beef to kill MOST of the ecoli....get that MOST. Really?

So my daughter and I are now on a hunt to find organic food. Of course we can't afford it, and like I said...I likes my beef, but we're going to try. We've found a local dairy grower who feeds cattle 75% grass. Not bad. And they stay local with a company self-imposed policy to transport their food NO MORE than 300 miles round trip. Nice. I also found a local coop of Oklahoma farmers where we can order produce. So, we'll see how this goes.

A few months ago my son found out what happens to our water when we drink it in plastic. We've made a permanent change to use a filter on our water faucet and NOT buy in plastic. so, I think I can do this.

And you know this entire INCing of our food is b/c we insist on FAST, CHEAP food. The movie traces it back to McDonald's and the way the brothers mcdonald learned how to "assembly line" our food. BC we eat so much of this kind of fast food there is a need to provide food for the fast food industry....which is driving the market. I always wondered how the whole world only eats white chicken meat but there doesn't seem to be a surplus of dark meat anywhere!

Well, folks watch this movie for yourself. I know that I'll never go 100% veggie, or even stop shopping at Wal Mart. But, I do want to take some steps to change the INCing of my food...and all that goes with it. So, we'll see. I'll let you know how it works out.

Poverty or Deprivation

My new definition for poverty is "deprivation". it can come in financial, emotional, physical ways or in just the inability or absence of those resources. i worked with a number of kids in the NE okc area which were terribly deprived. technically they had enough "money" to make it, but were terribly deprived or impoverished in other ways. no one was going hungry for food....but there is plenty of hunger for love, affection, relationship, God, etc. i find this a lot with my work now in the group homes. these kids have been "deprived" of all of the above + they are deprived of cognitive ability. God has begun revealing to me that my ministry isn't currently in a church setting, but in a setting where i can "prive" (opposite of deprive) or "privilege" some of these kids with what they are missing....affection, attention, relationship, etc. or teach their staff to do same. Poverty gets all the press, but i think deprivation is where it's at... often deprivation comes with oppression, but that's another set of thoughts!