The closing message of Michael Moore's latest film, Sicko, advises viewers to "Eat your fruits and vegetables, and go for a walk."
If that's what it takes to avoid the health care system, then I'm for all
for it. Perhaps what I'm doing is working, or perhaps I was privy to a
few good genes (some farmers grace my family tree). A few years ago
when I changed dentists, the assistant asked me about my prescription
drug usage, to which I responded, "I am not taking prescription drugs."
Somehow she could not wrap her mind around my response, and asked if I
was sure I was not on prescription drugs. By the time I left that day,
I had been asked about my prescription drug usage no fewer than five
times. Apparently at my age then, around 40, not being on a
prescription drug was unusual. Wow. What is happening to us? Despite
what my 23-year-old nephew thinks, I am not old.
So, back to those fruits and vegetables ...
With Homestead Growers weekly deliveries, I'm eating my vegetables, thank
you! And supplemental visits to the farmers' market provide the fruit.
And because I'm eating more fresh "stuff," I find that the processed
stuff just does not sound good (chocolate and popcorn excluded ...). I
crave those weekly deliveries of cucumbers and tomatoes and beets and
cabbage ... I can't wait to fry up some oyster mushrooms and zucchini
and sprinkle Traders Point cheese on top ... and when I'm done eating,
I'm full! And everything I ate was produced within 50 miles of my home.
Now there are those who would suggest that they cannot afford to
eat this way ... I believe they cannot afford not to. In fact, some
CSAs try to work with people so they can have access to healthy food
(Center Valley offers work exchanges, and Victory Acres is a church-run
CSA on Indy's east side that provides donated and low-cost fresh
produce). A number of vendors at the farmers' market accept WIC
vouchers. (Getting to those markets might be a challenge if you don't
own a car but that's another story for another day.) And a number of
churches in town supplement their food pantries with CSA deliveries.
Before our food became industrialized, we all used to "eat local." As
Barbara Kingsolver said last October at the Healthy Food, Local Farms
conference in Louisville, Ky., eating local now is considered elitist,
when only a couple of generations ago, it was the norm. She added that
"Penny pinching is an acceptable defense of toxic food." And, she
observes that "this generation of children is the first to have a
shorter lifespan than their parents."
I concede that I don't have children and I'm not trying to feed
a family on a budget ... so I can only report on what I hear and
observe. Recently I stumbled across this article from the Minneapolis
Star/Tribune on eating healthy for $1 a meal, or $21 a week. Read it at
http://www.startribune.com/1244/story/1269320.html.
And you'll find a reference to the USDA recipe finder, in case you
don't know what to do with something like kohlrabi. It's located at
http://recipefinder.nal.usda.gov/.
Meanwhile, I'll continue eating my fruits and vegetables, and instead of walking, I'll ride my bicycle.
Meanwhile, have you ever asked to visit the farm where your food was produced? I did ... check back next time for my report. In the mean time, if you haven't seen Sicko, it's worth the trip to the theatre (by bike or on foot if possible).
