As good moms and dads, we attempt to instruct our kids regarding the principle: do unto others as you would certainly have them do unto you. Or, much more merely: deal with others just how you want to be treated.
The exact same should hold true for our food system. I am hard pushed to believe that the moms and dads that motivate their youngsters to deal with others perfectly would authorize of a system that deliberately includes chemicals and also contaminants to its plants as well as pets, pollutes our air and also water with waste or one that treats pets with disrespect.
Enter the Slow Food Movement. Slow Food is excellent, clean as well as reasonable food. It urges customers to recognize the connection “in between plate and planet.”
* Food ought to taste good.
* It must be generated in a tidy manner in which does not damage the environment.
* Pets ought to be treated with dignity and respect.
* Food manufacturing should not hurt us or our wellness.
* The people that generate our food should obtain reasonable payment for their work, as well as need to not be subjected to contaminants as they do their jobs.
I assume that a lot of us are accustomed to “activities” being largely led by adults. National politics is a prompt example. However, the wellness of our youngsters goes to risk, as well as we would certainly be doing them a disservice if we didn’t include them in the pursuit for better, slower food.
Our kids discover their food values every day, not just from us, but from the media and their peers also. Corporate food giants invest over 15 billion dollars a year on the 10,000 food ads a lot of our children see. Almost all of these are for foods that high fat – high sugar – high salt food with little or no nutrient worth. Ann Cooper, writer of Lunch Instructions, claims that as a country we’re obtaining fatter and also sicker by the years. Over 2/3rd of us are obese as well as totally 1/3 are obese – a lot more discouraging is the fact that over 1/3 of our children are obese and the CDC states that of the children born in the year 2000 – 30 – 40% will certainly come to be diabetic in their lifetime. These disappointing data are a straight result of diet regimen. Place another, much more dismal way, it is an outcome of what we feed our youngsters. What does this show our youngsters concerning the value of food?
And with many moms and dads in dual-working family members, time is essential. One of every 4 meals in America is consumed at a junk food dining establishment; one in 4 is consumed in a vehicle and also one in 3 in front of a TV or computer. It would deserve considering what these children are finding out about the value of food. Are we educating them that it is simpler and less expensive to acquire this type of “food” than to prepare actual foods in the house? While the instant expense of convenience food could appear low, there are various other costs to take into consideration. What is the long-term cost of CO2 emissions, contamination, obesity and also diabetes that undoubtedly originates from consuming processed foods?
