Church of Eco-Sinners

Going green is the new buzz phase, almost as catchy as being "born again". For some, being environmentally friendly has taken on new heights. Many years ago, I took it as my personal mission to save the planet. I figured at least I could make some choices for my kids so I could absolve myself of any guilt I may encounter later in life. I didn't want to have to explain to my grandchild why I didn't at least try something.

Anyone who knows me, knows I do nothing halfway. Suffice to say, I became eco-obsessed. I devoured any literature I could find on the subject and began making little changes all the while preparing for my big, off the grid, hippie leap out of the consumer driven world. For the most part, it's still my goal.

But as I delved deeper into the green (under)world I noticed more and more inconsistencies. For example, many eco-aholics promote vegetarianism as a way to save the planet. It prevents gases from cattle manure, saves prime produce producing farmland and forests from being used for pasture. In general, vegetarianism improves our overall health. All mighty goals. Other Green Guru's swear by eating locally, and supporting neighbourhood producers. Also a noble goal.

Both have inherit flaws.

For one, vegetarians in the northern hemisphere require a varied diet that is not available locally in the cold winter months, thus relying on carbon emitting transport to bring in all those vegetables they are consuming. In essence, the strict vegetarian is causing huge gaping holes in the ozone and causing the greenhouse effect. Where as meat-atarians are doing the same buy consuming meat causing methane gas distribution and prime farmland loss. Who is the real eco-sinner? The vegetarians forced to eat foods grown thousands of miles away or the omnivore who consumes locally grown fayre which is far less efficient to produce?

I have come to the conclusion that we are ALL eco-sinners. Some more than others. Some are very much aware of their sins, while others remain blissfully ignorant.

Some city dwellers do not even own a car, preferring public transportation and pedal power to get them from point A to B, all the while cranking their heat in their gas furnace rather than putting on a sweater in the winter time. Some country dwellers drive huge gas guzzlers but grow so much of their own food they hardly ever need to go to the grocery store to buy food. These scenarios are real. Somewhere in all this we need to figure out what is best for us and the world we live in.

In the meantime, amateur environmentalists and closet eco-sinners (namely bloggers) post freely all their advice and wisdom, wagging their cyber fingers at unsuspecting readers. You are an eco-sinner because you don't use their brand of all natural shampoo. You are an ignorant eco-sinner for not knowing that chemical XYZ exist in that sneaker on your child's foot. You are not as good as them because they have it all figured out and quite frankly...you are severely lacking.

I follow at least 50 blogs. Many are like me, moms trying out new ways to raise a family without breaking the bank or the planet. Sometimes we succeed and sometimes we flop. We are human after all, and no one is perfect. However I have noticed a few who stand out more than the average. These are the self-righteous, sanctimonious super moms who have it all going on (all that and a bag of organic, all natural veggie chips). They make the rest of us crunchy moms look like Hummer driving, polyester wearing, bottle feeding, live-in nanny employers.

These people make it seem like they know exactly what you and you and you and I need to do to make our homes and families healthy and free of eco-guilt. The planet would be saved if we all just did it their way. In some ways, they are right but there's a few flaws. For one, I don't live in Australia. For another, I don't have a huge savings account and I really don't want to swear off shampoo, deodorant and my feminine razor, thank you very much! I just want to be me, not them. I want stuff that will work for me. What Suzy Q, or Jane Doe, or Johnny Come-Lately do may not be helpful to me and I should not be made to feel like an inadequate, wannabe environmentalist for not doing it their way. And I am sick and tired of reading posts about how everyone is Doing It Wrong!!

Deep breath.

Okay. So with that said, I want to apologize if I have ever made anyone feel guilty or inadequate for what I have posted here. At my heart, I am just trying to share what works for my family and I am very much aware that what I do may not be for everyone. I hope that I have showcased a middle path free of finger wagging and self-righteous indignation. If I have not being so Zen, then I apologize, repent my self-righteous sins and promise I will try harder from here on out. Amen.

Less Meat and Our Health

Since scaling back our meat consumption I have noticed my energy level dropping considerably. We haven't gone completely meatless. We stick to organic meats. Even still, we only consume about one meal a week with meat in it.

At first I did not make the connection between my energy and our change in diet. One morning, a few hours into my day, and I was struggling to keep my eyes open. I wondered if my sudden drop in energy could be related to a vitamin deficiency and after a bit of googling I found what I was looking for.

Iron is a mineral which for most of us is consumed via red meat. Iron can also be found in leafy greens, diary poducts, beans and iron-enriched pasta. Because we are not eating as much meat I know I need to pay closer attention to our diets.

I purchased daily vitamin supplements for my kids and myself. I compared each brand to find the one with the most iron. A vegetarian friend of mine recommended I cook in my iron skillet, which I do fairly often. And I have also decided to included a salad rich in leafy greens with every meal.

Since implementing these things over the last four days I have seen major improvements in my energy level. By jove, I think it's working!

Opting Out

A few weeks ago I posted about a show, Kill It Cook It Eat It, which created some much needed discussions in my house about the meat we eat and where it comes from.

I cringe when I think about how industrialized and factory-like the meat industry has become. Farm animals are slaughtered by the thousands in a single day to maximize profits. Animals in huge farms are raised too quickly using growth hormones. Chickens are bred to generate meaty breasts that cause them to fall over. These birds often never see the light of day, they can barely walk around with all that weight and even if they could move their legs under their weight there would be no where to go because of the shear number of other birds crammed in around them. Laying hens are not much better off and spend their entire lives in cages laying eyes and then dying.

In my mind this is deplorable and I will not be a part of it. We are simply opting out.

That is not to say we are vegetarians. We have no qualms about eating meat. However my husband and I have developed an interesting strategy that frees us from the cycle of the meat industry. We will only eat organic meat and free range eggs. That is for the time being while we have no farm of our own, we will purchase meat that is certified organic because this means the meat was raised slowly, without hormones or pesticides. The cost, although much more than supermarket meat, is better reflective of the actual price to keep and raise animals in way that values their lives. We will not consume meat at restaurants.

Because of this increased cost, and anticipated health benefits, we plan to only consume meat once or twice a week. This was easy enough done to our current recipes by making vegetarian chili, or not adding meat to our pasta. Many meals were already meat free so this has been an easy transition.

Eating less meat is a common suggestion for minimizing your eco-footprint. Acres upon acres of prime farmland are used to grow grains for animals which in turn feed us. If as a society we eat the grain instead of the animal there would be enough food for everyone.