Voting with Forks and Dollars

life is hard; food doesn't have to be #44 [vol2, 2.4] ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Image by Kadarius Seegars

In November, I bought an essential oil diffuser for my desk.  Most days 3 drops of my current favorite oil sets the mood for concentration - whether it’s reading, meditating or writing a newsletter.  A few weeks into this routine I noticed the bottle was almost half empty...from only using a few drops a day. A minuscule amount was accumulating to make a difference.  This new diffuser on my desk is the first I’ve been consistent with using essential oils. It brought about a landslide of correlating thoughts.

A few drops a day is how the bottle is emptied.

Deep thoughts, I know.

Reaching exercise goals, cleaning up my diet, replacing toxic beauty products can all seem insurmountable unless we break them into baby steps, tiny drops if you will. And be consistent.

In this space, I’ve given ideas where you can start: choosing mineral rich salt, starting at the top of the food chain and buying local meat, how to buy fish in a landlocked state, and meal planning. Personally, I was zeroing into an exercise routine then busted my knee skiing...maybe it’s not meant for me to exercise. Busted ribs in October, now the knee... hello middle age.

Yesterday I was talking to a friend who was exasperated by the state of food in America.  She felt overwhelmed that the situation is too far gone. Big Ag is too big to fight. She said, “If only someone like Bill Gates jumped in to help!”

I disagreed.  The food system doesn’t need a benevolent benefactor like Gates. “We vote three times a day with our fork,” says popular food writer and local food advocate Michael Pollan.

Lasting change in our food system starts with each package I put in my cart (or maybe better - the package I resist.)  Educating ourselves and reading labels is empowering -- to me and future generations.

If you can remember the egg aisle 10 years ago, there weren’t many choices.  Now we  choose from brown or white, cage free, organic, free range, pastured.  All these choices are consumer driven.  We’ve educated ourselves and our dollars demanded more options. If you’re confused by all the options, here’s an article I wrote to unpack the differences. By the way, the color of the shell has nothing to do with the nutrients within. 

This week I heard Beautycounter Founder and CEO say, “We are using commerce as an engine for change. Safer should be in the hands of everyone.”

Commerce as an engine for change. Voting three times a day with our fork.  Our dollars hold power.

You don’t have to throw everything away and spend a million dollars to start anew.  As you run out of corn syrup “maple syrup”, then buy the real stuff the next time.  As you run out of Tide with fragrance, order Charlie’s Soap from Amazon. I buy the 5 gallon bucket and we’re on month 18 with detergent left. When you’re out of night cream, this is the best - it performs and gets great marks from the Skin Deep Database.

As a wife, homemaker and mother, I am making lots of commerce choices.  Over the years I have educated myself on these choices.  One of my first ah-ha commerce choices many years ago was that packaged snacks can be more expensive than in-season produce.  I stopped buying a weekly allotment of chips. And started occasionally making popcorn on the stove in coconut oil.

Did you know that Doritos cost more per ounce than organic grapes?

I’m not trying to lay a big fat guilt trip on anyone. Nor am I saying that healthier is always cheaper. I’m reminding us all of the power of small choices. It’s small baby steps with consistency that make the marathon and empties essential oil bottles.

Keep going.  You’re doing great! I think you would be encouraged to take a moment to reflect on some of the changes you’ve made during your health journey.

As always, reply to this email with questions or leave a comment and others might benefit from your question as well.

Cheering you on!

Julie

PS - A reader recommended the book Grocery: The Buying and Selling of Food in America. I judged the book by its cover and title. I didn’t think I would enjoy it. She insisted I would so I borrowed it from the library. Very well written and full of story to keep my attention. It just might change the way you shop.