Food Rules!

Most approaches to diets begin on the nutrient level. Take the food pyramid (or whatever the updated version is called) for example. Grains, veges, fruits, dairy products, meats, and sugars. Michael Pollan's thought process is quite different. The idea to first be sure you're eating "real" food (as compared to food-like substances) is not something I've ever considered. I try to eat well, or at least the best I can. I go to the grocery store and get items like granola bars, crackers, almonds, and greek yogurt. I like to think I'm being a smart and healthy shopper, but I'm receiving the impression that this may not be as I thought. Rule number 13 "Shop the Peripheries of the Supermarket and Stay Out of the Middle" really stood out to me. I thought about the truthfulness of this rule and realized its validity. At the same time however, I also very quickly came to terms with how it's (almost) impossible to shop healthily even staying around the outer layer of the grocery store. Pollan's suggestion to combat this is to shop at Farmers Markets and Whole Foods places. I can't speak for everyone, maybe I'm just not a trusting person, but I find the thought of purchasing non-fruits and vegetables from local Farmers is a little risky. As I'm writing this, I realize the reason I'm okay with buying fresh fruits and vegetables from local Farmers is because I've grown up eating fruits and veges from my grandfather's garden, as well as deer, bear, and turkey that he's brought home from his yearly hunting adventures.

As I think about it, I can't actually rationalize why I trust prepackaged foods. Yeah we have the FDA and USDA and other organizations, but I know they're not the most strict on their regulations. There's really no guarantee that my processed and packaged foods are going to be as trustworthy or more so than locally grown and sold foods. The more I reflect on this, the more I realize that if anything, excuses are made for not going to Farmers Markets and places of the such. If anything, many of us go to the Grocery Store primarily for its convenience.

5 Fav's:
(57) If you're not hungry enough to eat an apple, then you're probably not hungry
(73) Do all your eating at a table
(40) Make water your beverage of choice
(24) When you eat real food, you don't need rules
(71) Eat with other people whenever you can

5 Disagreements:
(37) Sweeten and Salt your food yourself
(26) Treat meat as a flavoring or special occasion food
(70) Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, dine like a pauper
(61) Serve your vegetables first
(45) Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself

My 5 rules:
1. Don't starve yourself, eat when your body tells you to
2. Don't rely solely on food to make you healthy
3. Eat what makes you physically feel well
4. Try new things
5. NEVER skip meals

Buzz Buzz... "The Plight of the Honeybee"

In a previous week's edition of TIME Magazine, they showcased a story about the dwindling honeybee population. Initially, my thought was that it wasn't a big deal; it was just another specifies that was on its way to extinction. What makes the honeybee so special? Yeah, bees pollinate fields and help the expansion of crops, but I didn't realize how much they influenced the economic status of our agriculture.

The fact of the matter is that the decline in amount of honeybees could severely affect our planet, leaving "the planet poorer and hungrier." I don't understand how we, as intelligent creatures, can't find an alternative to our honeybee pollinators. I do however understand the implications of the diminishing honeybee population. We don't know why they're disappearing, but we assume it's something that humans are causing. If this is the case and our actions are killing off other species, then we really could have a massive issue to deal with in the near future.

One theory behind the honeybee disappearance is the fact that they're not native to the US and we're destroying the habitat that they need to severe. We keep advancing as a species, which means industrialization of previously natural areas. In the scenario that we're merely taking away the honeybee habitat, we will most definitely be doing similar damage to many other species. The underlying issue here is that humans have taken over the entire planet and declared it ours. Since we're the most advanced and arguably the most developed, we've granted ourselves the executive right to do with this planet as we choose. 

This idea that we're the dominant species and do whatever we want (more or less) with the planet is ethically unfair. Under what authority do we, as humans, have to claim the earth as ours to rule and make executive decisions for? I guess one could pull from a religious (specifically Christian) arsenal and say that when God created the earth, He created man in order to take care of the earth and all living creatures inside it. Assuming you're one who accepts Scripture as infallible truth, then this is enough for you; however, if you're not quite convinced, we must propose another hypothesis for the origin of our Earth-managing authority. I have not been able to think of another argument to validate our domination of this planet, besides the fact that over time we have grown as a species and populated the entire world and industrialized much of it as we have grown.

To re-address what I mean by "ethically unfair," I would like to provide the following. According to Dictionary.com, ethics are the rules of conduct recognized in respect to a particular class of human actions or a particular group, culture, etc. Also, unfair can be defined as disproportionate; undue; beyond what is proper or fitting. Based upon these definitions, "ethically unfair" would mean that based on humans' commonly accepted code of conduct, our actions are directly or indirectly affecting another group in such as way that is undeserved.

In the case that the human action is the reason why honeybees are diminishing, it is our responsibility to avoid this from continuing. What this exactly entails, I do not know. Regardless of the solution to this problem, the fact of the matter is we rely on each other for survival. This is something that we cannot afford to forget.