Standing up for what you believe in can be hard. We all know this; some of us give up at the slightest criticism or setback, others experience compassion fatigue and still, others are unsure of what they even “stand up for,” if anything. This is all understandable, but today of course I’m addressing some of my favorite Tough Gals when it comes to shining the light on yucky food practices and the physical health effects of our industrialized food system. Call them food activists, call them bloggers, call them what you will; I’ve seen a lot of both positive and negative comments about them and their causes and I just think the negativity and backlash is a shame. The following should be an inspiration to us all to show how powerful your voice can be — and that it CAN be heard — in this niche or wherever you’re trying to fit in and make a statement.
Category: Thoughts
In an increasingly food-obsessed culture, it’s easy to take sides — say, the embittered Mark Bittman/Michael Pollan side versus the I’ve-eaten-this-way-all-my-life-and-I’m-fine side — leading to rifts or, at the very least, bad feelings among friends, family members, and most certainly restaurant owners and manufacturers who stand astutely on one side of the line or the other. I have to admit, the inspiration for this post came from my shock at seeing a photo of Bittman in the latest issue of Everyday Food: he has his hands up in the air and is smiling, widely, which is not the usual image I conjure up of him in my head as I read his passionate articles and interviews. At least in terms of how he expresses his dissatisfaction with our nation’s current industrialized food system and garbage eating habits, he doesn’t exactly come across as a happy-go-lucky type…more like the lovechild of Anthony Bourdain and Marion Nestle — an all-black-wearing New Yorker who’s taken daddy’s bad attitude and softened it up with a bit of mommy’s extensive research, adding a dash of honest irony and patent disgust to the whole state of affairs.
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How Do You Say What You Do?
If you’ve never heard of Danielle LaPorte, you are missing out on some serious soulful empowerment tips, inspiration delivered right to your inbox, and daily encouragement should you so desire. She also engages readers and fellow bloggers in Burning Questions, which is what this is: How do you say what you do? As in, when someone asks you, what do you do for a living, how do you respond?
Politicians are an interesting breed. Pick a country, and they’re likely to fit a general mold, at least in one sense — they often move from position to position, laterally or climbing the ladder, making connections and using the relationships they build in order to strengthen ties and ensure a bigger paycheck. Sounds pretty smart, at least on the surface; but when it comes to how this plays out in the food industry it’s downright unappetizing.
A recent review of an article from one of my favorite blogs (arguably my favorite) made me realize something I’d never quite put my finger on before: A lot of my decisions in life — heck, a lot of my thoughts — come from a place of fear. Are based on the premise of fear. Are constructed and formulated, to a large extent, on any number of fears:
It’s Saturday, today we have one of my son’s little buddy’s birthday parties, Sunday is Easter and a big family dinner also means leftovers. (Not to mention I’m pregnant, emotional, hormonal, and exhausted.)
I can’t even start writing this post without sighing in shame and discouragement.
Ah, how times have changed.
Are you a museum-goer? Do you appreciate the finer things in life, like old oil paintings, black and white photography, American history? I’ve never been too big of an art buff, but one thing is clear and often cited when looking back over the life works of portrait artists from around the globe:
I have to be honest, I did not deliberate much (this morning) when deciding that this year would be my Year of Peace. As you may remember from previous posts, each year I pick a theme on my birthday for the following 12 months. In the past its been such things as the Year of Me, when I focused on taking care of my body, the Year of Opposites when I tried to come out of my shell more and think outside of the box, the Year of Health when I was pregnant and trying to eat well for the baby. The Year of Peace seemed rather obvious, not just in light of this site but generally speaking in terms of my real need for calm and peace in the home, with my child, in heated or hectic moments and trying to stay relaxed, focused, and centered concerning all elements of my life — spirituality, nutrition, friendships, finance, whatever it may be.
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Forbidden foods
Although I’m behind on my reading (and all things unnecessary to the daily functioning of my life), every once in a while I get to read a page or two of Why Weight, another Geneen Roth book based on workshop-type exercises rather than some of her other books that are filled with personal stories and anecdotes from readers.