Cheap Eats

I don't know where fresh, handmade mozzarella has been all my life. I can't believe how creamy and smooth it is. And swiss chard. I can't get enough of the goodness that was picked hours before I bought it. And milk that was bottled within days, rather than months. The flavors we are experiencing are amazing. I don't think we can ever go back to the way we ate before.

But that tiny little ball of mozzarella was $4.5o. Quite a bit, really, but every bite of it was eaten consciously. We are conscious of its deliciousness, the way its flavor bursts in our mouth with creamy goodness. We are conscious to slowly savor every bite because we appreciate that it was made this week by human hands, hands that make a living feeding local families. We are conscious that it is not cheap eats.

From what I understand, the idea of cheap and plentiful food came from the Eisenhower administration. During the post-war years the government felt that the best way to help Americans to feel that all was well, was the plentiful availability of inexpensive food. So they put programs into place that helped Americans have the sense that they were well-fed and food was highly affordable. This was the beginning of our current day, mass produced, low nutrient food that is highly refined and high in calories. To this day, we believe that we should be able to spend the least amount possible on food to fill our families' bellies. We go to the store believing the goal is to buy cheap, with no other consideration than getting the most food for our hard earned dollar, regardless of its origins or affect on our bodies.

But what is the long term cost of cheap eats? If I spend money today on a low cost, high sugar cereal or corn fed beef that is full of hormones and antibiotics or even vegetables that are grown with chemical fertilizers and sprayed with pesticides, what will be the cost to me in 20 years? What will be the effect on my health? Diabetes, cancer, high blood pressure, obesity are on the rise.

Studies have shown that local, organic veggies actually have higher nutrient value than their corporately grown counterparts that were likely picked unripe, sprayed with ethylene gas to ripen them as they go on their journey of hundreds of miles to the American plate.

Actually, our family's food budget has not increased. We are eating out less, partly due to our commitment to this diet and partly due to the fact that now that we are eating healthier, restaurant food is rather a disappointment. We are buying less and what we buy is high quality, highly nutritious and fresh. Instead of more food for our hard earned dollar, it is more value. Not just to us, but to the farmers that labor to bring it to us in connecting, eco-conscious and sustainable ways.