FDA anonymous

I am totally and completly addicted to the FDA. Or at least to the idea that they do something that makes my food safe to eat. I am terrified of food that has not gone through the process of being deemed clean.

 Now exactly what that process might be, I have no idea. I actually can barely guess at what the FDA does, checks out work conditions I suppose, makes sure there is no mold in the fridges, no mouse poop in the panties. Then I suppose there is some random sample selections made that are chemically tested for ecoli and salmonella..but come on - we all know that most government agencies are barely capable of handling the tasks they are given.And anyone who has ever watched a video of an animal butchering plant knows that things don't always follow the FDA's plan. So the fact that most people eat everyday and do not keel over indicates that food is mostly safe to eat with or without the help of the FDA. The trouble with food comes when you buy it from people who don't care about growing or raising good healthy food.

So why then, am I afraid to eat food that I've grown myself, or that comes off my friends organic lemon tree? I just always wonder, how would I know if this food is diseased? How can you tell if some nasty worm lurks inside ready to hijack my intestines? Can you tell by just looking at it? Is it the opposite of books - you can judge the fruit by it's cover? I am so deeply and completely Americanized. I prefer my food freeze dried, homogenized, pasteurized, rubbed in animal fat for shine, stacked neatly under fluorescent lights with a little sticker on the side. I need an intervention, a bee stung, bunny fenced, organically grown intervention!

My friend Mirja has this great blog about how she and her family left New York to move to a cabin in Maine and become homesteaders http://brooklynbumpkin.blogspot.com/2012/12/butter-update-and-confessions-of-crap.html
I love her blog! One thing that is part of homesteading is getting your own food, so she describes her husband bringing home a goose that he had shot and they cooked it and ate it including the heart. I love this image but I keep thinking, how did they know that they could eat it? How did they know it wasn't sick? We all the know that the cause of death in that bird was that he shot it, but how would he know that that bird wasnt horribly sick with West Nile or something and would have died the next day on it's own and now they will eat it and get west nile. Does west nile cook out? Did anyone call the FDA? And how did they know how long to cook a goose heart to be sure it had reached the proper internal temperture? There is no marking for goose heart on my meat thermometer, I checked. How did they even know you could eat a goose heart? And what about brains? Are there rules around eating brains?
It just feels like an awful big job, this idea of me taking full responsibility for what goes into my mouth and body with out getting the imput of three government agencies.

I sure hope I'm up to the task.

Our collective sins

I'm feeling really sad. The events of last Friday in Newtown have rocked me. It is unbearable to imagine the moments that those children went through, the moment that their parents became aware that there was an issue at school. I can't take the images of those parents running toward the school, with that feeling that only other parents know, praying, please let my kid be safe, please, please, please. I can't even allow my brain to stay on the moment that some found out that their child was not safe. That their child had been hurt, that their baby had been killed and would not be coming home ever again. It is too much in the most literal sense - too much to understand.

And of course there has been a lot of talk about the various political issues that we can think about to try to stop thinking for a moment about those families, those poor fucking families who were just shattered beyond any kind of repair.
And those issues are important. We absolutely need to think about gun control and even more pressing, our care and support of the people and the families dealing with mental illness. and even though those are some issues that directly lead to the events on Friday it feels very remote, very seperate from mattering to this moment in time when these precious lives were ripped from their families and community.

I think, for me, the thing that is ringing in my brain is how wrong we as human beings are getting so many, many things. Things that make us fundamentally human are being ignored and wiped out of our way of life. We don't connect to each other. We have learned to overlook a hungry person, an angry person, a sick person, a homeless person. It is so common place to see a person living on the streets with their ragged clothes and their dirty hair and skin that we think nothing of it. It literally doesnt even slow our pace. We will not spend the rest of the afternoon thinking about what led that person to be so alone and unprotected. We don't jump on the phone and call everyone we know to announce that there is an emergency because a fellow human being who lives in our community is completly without resources and needs our help. We don't even care. At all.

Everyone of us spends more time and energy devoted to our image, devoted to making sure that the people around us think that we are okay, that we are great. You are not supposed to let anyone know or see the true depths of your lonliness or despair. The fears and anxieties that plague us all are played out in secret. We need people to think we look good and dress well and that we love our jobs and/or that it provides a tidy little life for us. We need people to think that we are happy and satisfied and reasonably untroubled, to a degree that makes it a lie.

We slave away for the almighty dollar, throwing food away for fear that the price will drop if there is an overabundance, while people go hungry everysingle minute of every day. People are angry and sad and struggeling. People can not feed their families the way that they would like to, can not get the kind of health care that they need, can not sign their children up for dance class or the tuba, can not even send them to school in some cases - and I'm not even talking about the lowest levels of poverty here, I'm talking about the lower middle class. The world is restless and clawing and the people in it are so tired of wanting and trying and not being seen or heard or cared about that they are snapping. Shootings, stabbings, robbery, war, screaming yelling, hating, crying. And it is not the fault of the individuals, it is the fault of the whole of humanity yet it is the least powerful the most vulnerable who bare the punishment for our collective sins. And we don't notice much until it rears up it's disgusting head and commits an ungodly act on our doorsteps.

Yes we need to remove guns but more than that we need to remove the need and desire for guns by meeting the needs of every person around us.

Yes we need mental health care - but we need to get back to living as a community that loves and supports the members who are dealing with mental illness so that a whole community can help keep the mentally ill and those around them safe.

There is not a person out there who would place more value on money and things than on the lives and well being of their family and loved ones. Many people do mix up those priorities in their behaviors, but if asked they would say that the love and emotional connections in their lives are what it is all about. In our most authentic hearts we all know that in the end the love we've shared the joy we've shared the passion and strength and connection and commitment to people is all that matters one bit. Everything else is nothing. So why do we have a culture that does not support those needs? Why do we forget what is most important to us?

I'm just really sad about Friday. And many other days as well.

I Left It In The Car

So it turns out that trying to bring your own glass jars to collect your purchases is not much different than trying to bring your reusable bags. Shortly before I started I had gone to the grocery store so we havent needed much yet, but the few times that I've needed to grab something, I' ve found myself without a glass jar or reusable bag in hand. This is going to take some time to turn into a habit. It's been pretty stress free locating the stores I need to buy my bulk stuff but actually going in and buying the things is the challenge! I know where to get bulk flour, but what about when I need a box of crackers for a meeting that I'm 15 minutes late to?

Digital Dump

As I try to reduce my own waste, it often creeps into my head that my efforts are in vain. That it's just a silly way of making myself feel better without actually having a giant effect on our planet. While that may be true, I am committed. If everyone in the world did what I am trying to do that would help imeasurably - so I won't be swayed by the voice. But when I see video's like the one posted below it is so saddening and overwhelming. It actually makes me feel the teeniest bit hopeless.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkpBcFDjk7Y

I know that no one wants this to go on, no one! And yet it happens and continues to happen. Where do we begin?

Well Seasoned

I think an important thing to think about in terms of zero waste is making an attempt to get as much of the stuff you need from the most local sources that you can. We really don't need to be flying quite as much food around this country as we do - especially for those of us in year round warm climates. It is also so much healthier to eat with the season. The cultures that tend to live the longest and be healthiest through those extended years are cultures that include the practice of eating all locally sourced foods. Which means they will get an array of perfect foods that change with the seasons. So it makes good sense. I have not the first clue about when something is or isnt in season - my solution for that is to start buying all my produce from the farmers market - I also avoid those stickers and bags and twist ties which are waste - but I did come across some links which are very helpful. Here is one http://localfoods.about.com/od/searchbystate/State_Seasonal_Produce_Guides.htm

You can also find local farmers markets and seasonal recipes and such with a quick search.

Out Of The Box

So I have been doing a lot of research. As I've said I'm totally inspired by The Zero Waste Home but she lives in Northern California so all of the sources she references for getting local goods without packaging are not local to me. I've had some trouble finding good sources of info about it online so if anyone knows of a good LA based Zero Waste blog let me know! In the meantime I've been searching the Internet and making calls and here is what I've come up with.

In Santa Monica there is a fabulous store called "Cooportunity" They have a ton of bulk items. I went there because the had bulk soap and lotion.  It turned out that even have shampoo and conditioner! It all smells great and I already love the Castille soaps and they have both peppermint and Eucalyptus so I'm thrilled - except...these one gallon bulk jugs hardly seem like they will make quite enough difference. It is certainly-no doubt about it - better for me to buy from these jugs than to buy my own 12 ounce bottle, it is saving but in truth they should be much larger. They should be barrel sized to really get into the zero waste spirit. I am going to talk to the store manager and maybe even the distributors of Castille soap and see whether this is something that could be changed. That said, I will use these products in my glass containers until I find someplace with bigger bulk jugs. My hats off to Cooportunity though, they really have the biggest bulk sections and I think I'll be able to get so much of what I need from this store - so I love them!

In addition to the cleansers, they have a gigantic bulk spice section - this picture is not even half. I will never have to buy another bottle of spices again. I'm certain that little specialty shops like Indian or Chinese would likely be good sources for bulk spices as well.

 



A few items that I have worried about are things like boxed pasta that are so convenient to have on hand. I've made my own pasta dough before but that was in my pasta maker - which I no longer have. I wondered whether I would have the wherewithal to make fresh dough whenever I wanted pasta but they have elbows macaroni in the bulk section at this store. Problem solved - I do intend to make my own pasta but it's nice to know you can still have some convenience foods. They have every kind of flour you never knew you'd need and of course to many nuts, grains, seeds to mention. They have all these different kinds of salt coming from exotic lands in an array of natural colors - one was bordering on purple. Think I'll have to try some. They also have a giant bulk candy section. With to many delicious looking things to mention but suffice it to say that you can have a plethora of tasty treats in the cupboards that don't come with a wrapper. I'm thrilled with this store and can absolutely delve deep into buying "out of the box"

A few items that I am still trying to figure out - laundry detergent, dishwasher detergent, oils, vinegars and butter.

There is a farmers market in Santa Monica on Wednesday mornings and there is an olive oil booth. I'm going to ask them whether they would let me use my own container or if they would refill my bottle if I brought it back. We will see about that. Also - I know there is someone who makes homemade, good for the environment laundry soap somewhere in Santa Monica because her product used to be sold at Pure Sense on Montana. I'm going to see if I can get her contact info from them and see about purchasing from her into my own container. I am also checking with a couple of deli's to see if they have some of those giant glass pickle jars that I could have, I could use them to store the laundry and dish detergents.

I have decided to try to use vinegar and hydrogen peroxide and baking soda for cleaning products. I have no idea whether they will really work or whether my house will smell like a baked pickle jar but I'm going to try and will let you know. I have no leads on vinegars or butter  yet...hope this all helps anyone who is looking for the same kind of info.