My Own Omnivore’s Dilemma: no acceptable solution

Welcome to the July Carnival of Natural Parenting: Let’s Talk About Food

This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Code Name: Mama and Hobo Mama. This month our participants have written about their struggles and successes with healthy eating. Please read to the end to find a list of links to the other carnival participants.

***

Come with me to the dairy aisle, and I will introduce you to the math problem that haunts my food choices: The problem of non-intersecting sets. You see, in my ideal world, my food choices do not necessarily make the world a worse place. I’m not a perfectionist, but in this other reality, I have the opportunity to make good choices, not just accept the least-bad of a questionable lot.

In the case of dairy products, I would like the ability to purchase milk that came from a cow that wandered the fields, eating grass and clover and who was not subjected to unnecessary antibiotics. Also, I would like this cow to live within a couple of hundred kilometers of my home. And, as the icing on the cake, I would like the farmer who takes care of this cow to have an adequate income, a stable market and some autonomy on the running of their farm.
As it happens, I know a farmer with a cow that roams the fields. She’s even willing to get another cow and provide me with milk, as long as I purchase the cow. She lives about 130 km (80 miles) away, which isn’t completely convenient, but it’s workable. I like her cow. I would love to be the owner of such a cow. But I am not allowed to have the milk from that cow or any cow like her. The farmer doesn’t have quota, and she doesn’t have access to an approved facility for milk processing, and she doesn’t have $100,000 to build one. So I cannot have that milk.

Hence, I arrive in the dairy aisle at the grocery store, where I am faced with two options. The first is milk from a co-op (right on) of dairy farmers in my own area (super), some of whom pasture their cows (good), although most of them are still in confinement (not cool). The milk has been pasteurized, which I can live with, but it has also been fractionated, recombined, standardized, homogenized, and any number of other things… really, I don’t know what they did to the milk between the cow and the store, but it was an industrial process, and I probably don’t want to know. It’s not really a whole food any more, though.

[My husband, overhearing this mumbling, and looking at the beehive and the chicken coop in the back yard, is justifiably concerned. Fortunately for his sanity, we’re about 5 acres short for pasturing.]

The other option available is the organic milk. Also produced by a co-op. I understand that the cows were pastured… at least that’s implied on the packaging. The people who advocate organic for health reasons have told me that if I can only afford one thing, it should be my dairy products. [No, I don’t have a reference. I can get one if you really need it.] It’s $12 a gallon. It comes from Ontario, 2400 km (1500 miles) away. It’s still gone through a raft of industrial processes. On the plus side, it seems to last well beyond its best-before date, and sometimes it is on last-day-of-sale (50% off). And it freezes well.

Our finances have recently become more stable. I started buying the organic milk… but I’m not comfortable with it. It’s better for us. It probably reduces the toxic impact of our consumption. But it is a heavy product that we are perfectly capable of producing locally; the System just precludes it. And therein lies the problem. I know what the right thing would look like, it just doesn’t exist. I can put my own priorities roughly in this order: (From “Absolutely vital” to “Extremely important” to “Very important”)

1. Environmental Impact
   • Carbon footprint
   • Toxic loading
   • Habitat destruction
   • Creatures displaced/killed
   • Topsoil, mangrove, genetic diversity loss
2. Human impact
   • Local economy
   • Fair trade
   • Labour practices
   • Child labour
   • Pesticide exposure for workers
   • Mistreatment of migrant labourers
   • Bankruptcy of small farms
   • Corporate take-over of farming
3. Health of my immediate family
4. Not completely bankrupting us or going insane with indecision

Except, that’s in the abstract. That is how I prioritize when sitting in front of a computer and thinking through the issues from afar. Standing in the grocery store faced with: organic apples from Chile, non-organic cherries from somewhere in the USA, organic bananas from Guatemala, double plastic-wrapped cucumbers from Ontario, bulk brown rice from a place of indeterminate origin, tofu that probably contains genetically modified soy beans, and asparagus from Peru, I relent, and I choose the best of a bad lot.

So, given that list, here is how I would make those particular choices. Today. Might be different tomorrow.

• No to the apples from Chile, except when my apple-loving son is pleading with me and apples are out of season.
• Yes to the USA cherries, but only this month when they are at least in season somewhere on the continent.
• Yes to the bananas because that’s as good as it gets and I’m too much of a wimp to give up all tropical fruit forever and ever.
• Yes to the cucumbers because it’s almost the only vegetable I can get the toddler to eat. But I might get a field cucumber next week because at least it isn’t wrapped in plastic. Unless there’s a really good sale on english cukes, or the local greenhouse comes back into production.
• Yes to the brown rice, but I feel guilty because organic is available. Please, please don’t tell me horror stories about how rice cultivation is ruining the world. I have to eat something.
• No to the GMO soy. Tofu only if I can find organic, which is more expensive than beef.
• Never asparagus from Peru, but sometimes from Ontario, for about 2 weeks in May. But I planted 25 asparagus plants this spring, in a fourth attempt to solve my asparagus-lack.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: It’s not just dinner. It’s a curriculum. But I’m not entirely sure what is being taught.

Hey, internet: Are you sure we can’t fit a cow on an acre and a half? (My husband says you only get a vote if you are willing to come over and milk it.)

***

Visit Code Name: Mama and Hobo Mama to find out how you can participate in the next Carnival of Natural Parenting!

Please take time to read the submissions by the other carnival participants:

(This list will be updated July 13 with all the carnival links.)

• Welcome to Two — All About Food — In case you hadn’t heard, there is a conspiracy afoot from the two year olds of the world. Shana at Tales of Minor Interest stumbled onto their newsletter!
• Four Seasons of Eating Locally — Jenn at Monkey Butt Junction has pointers for what fresh produce can be found year-round. (@MBJunction)
• Happy Families Can Have More Than One Diet — Deb Chitwood at Living Montessori Now has figured out a way for her family to live happily as vegans and vegetarians with relatives who eat meat. (@DebChitwood)
• My Own Omnivore’s Dilemma — Seonaid at The Practical Dilettante prioritizes responsible consumer choices for her family.
• No Gluten — No Cry — Joni Rae at Tales of a Kitchen Witch Momma learned to cook balanced meals when her son’s food sensitivities prompted a diet overhaul. (@kitchenwitch)
• Try, Try Again — Stefanie at very very fine has become an enthusiastic consumer of locally grown food.
• CSA — Week 1 — Casey at What Love Is wants her children to know where their food comes from, so she joined a friendly CSA. (@CBerbs)
• Food: Parenting or Homemaking? — Michelle at The Parent Vortex sees food as part of a parent’s nurturing role. (@TheParentVortex)
• 5 Tips to Help Kids Develop Healthy Eating Habits — If you struggle with healthy eating, helping your child develop healthy habits might be a challenge. Dionna at Code Name: Mama shares five easy tips that will help your kids learn to make good food choices. (@CodeNameMama)
• Family Food: Seeking Balance Between Healthy, Sustainable & Affordable — Kristin at Intrepid Murmurings has a whole list of ideas for how she can improve her family’s eating, both now and into the future. (@sunfrog)
• Whole Foods in, Wholesome Feelings Out — Jessica at This is Worthwhile has turned her back on the processed, preservative-ridden food of her childhood. (@tisworthwhile)
• When to Splurge on Organic (and When It Is Okay to Skip It) — Becoming Mamas tell you what foods to prioritize when buying pricier organic food, and where you can find it cheaper. (@becomingmamas)
• A Locavore’s Family Meal — Acacia at Be Present Mama tells a story in pictures of her family taking a trip to the local organic farmers market and then preparing a summer meal together with their bounty.
• Eat Your Food, or Else — Why should we not bribe a child to eat? TwinToddlersDad from Littlestomaks (Science Driven Real Life Toddler Nutrition) explains. (@TwinToddlersDad)
• Food, Glorious Food! — Luschka at Diary of a First Child describes three easy ways her family has started eating healthier. (@diaryfirstchild)
• Celebrating Food — Mrs Green at Little Green Blog believes in food as medicine and thinks it’s worth paying more to keep healthy. (@myzerowaste)
• Oil and Yogurt — What have you been motivated to do with the current oil spill crisis? midnightfeedings has started making her own yogurt. (@midnightfeeding)
• Growth-Spurt Soup (AKA “Beannut Stew”) — BeanMa has a special stew to help her baby through growth spurts that keep her up all night. (@thebeanma)
• Why I Love The Real Food Community — Much like many people who follow AP/NP values, Melodie at Breastfeeding Moms Unite! takes the parts of the “real food” philosophy that work for her family and leaves the rest. (@bfmom)
• Feeding a Family of Six — Mandy at Living Peacefully with Children gives helpful tips for feeding a family of six.
• Starting Solids at 6 Months — Did your doctor recommend that you give your baby cereal? Sheryl at Little Snowflakes discusses how whole foods are so much healthier (and more delicious) than traditional cereal. (@sheryljesin)
• Am I What I Eat? — Andrea!!! at Ella-Bean & Co. has figured out a way to avoid grocery stores nearly altogether.
• Are We Setting Our Kids Up To Fail? — Megan at Purple Dancing Dahlias found that cutting out the junk also transformed her sons’ behavior problems.
• Changing your family’s way of eating — Lauren at Hobo Mama has techniques you can try to move your family gradually toward a healthier diet. (@Hobo_Mama)
• Real Food — What kinds of fake foods do you eat? And why?! Lisa C. at My World Edenwild talks about why she chooses real food.
• A Snackaholic’s Food Battle — Julie at Simple Life wants to stop snacking and get into the old ways of cooking from scratch and raising her own food. (@homemakerjulie)
• Food, Not Fight — Summer at Finding Summer doesn’t want her kids to grow up like her husband: hating everything green. (@summerm)
• How Do You Eat When You Are out of Town? — Cassie at There’s a Pickle In My Life wants some tips on how to eat healthy when you are out of town.
• Carnival of Natural Parenting: Food! — Sybil at Musings of a Milk Maker hopes that by serving her children healthy, balanced meals, they will become accustomed to making good food choices. (@sybilryan)
• There’s No Food Like Home’s — NavelgazingBajan at Navelgazing revels in the Bajan food of her upbringing. (@BlkWmnDoBF)
• This Mom’s Food Journey — Kat at Loving {Almost} Every Moment made a journey from not paying attention to food to growing her own.
• Who Knew Eating Was So Hard? — The challenges involved in changing to healthier eating habits take on a whole new dimension when you have a child who has difficulties eating. kadiera at Our Little Acorn shares her own experiences. (@kadiera)
• Loving Food — Starr at Earth Mama truly believes food is her family’s medicine and is willing to spend days preparing it the traditional way.
• Food Mindfulness — Danielle at born.in.japan details how her family spends money on each category of food. (@borninjp)
• Food for Little People — Zoey at Good Goog wants to bless her daughter with happy traditions built around good food. (@zoeyspeak)
• Eat Like a Baby — Have you been told that you should not equate food with love? Kate Wicker at Momopoly shows us why that’s not necessarily true. (@Momopoly)
• Food — Deb at Science@Home tries to teach her children three rules to help them eat a healthy diet. (@ScienceMum)
• Healthy Eating Lactose-Free — MamanADroit gives us tips on how to eat healthy if you are lactose intolerant (or just don’t want cow milk). (@MamanADroit)