Today so far I've had:
- Green smoothie with banana, pineapple, cantaloupe and some kale
- fruit salad with banana, pineapple, cantaloupe, and strawberries
- Big salad with spring greens, tomato, avocado and mushroom
- Mushroom soup (mostly mushrooms, avocado, garlic, soy sauce, spices)
It's my 5th day and so far I've eaten probably 95% raw or very close to that. I feel pretty good. I have a headache that has been lurking but I feel pretty energetic compared to what I normally would. I'm still not bursting with energy, but I find I already have the energy to do more cleaning and get out more. I even got out of bed at 6:30 this morning which should really be marked on the calender or something because that is just AMAZING.
In other news, J and I watched Food, Inc. last night and it's really solidified my desire to buy more locally. The more I learn about big business, the more I don't want anything to do with it. It's so glaringly obvious what these companies and the government are doing that it's sickening.
I was shocked to find that Tyson is shipping in illegal immigrants to work in their plants and instead of going after Tyson for hiring them, the government goes after the immigrants! And it's not as if they actually try to ship them all back, they just pick up a few every week allowing hundreds, maybe thousands more to continue to work for Tyson at severely low pay and very poor working conditions.
Or the way chicken companies like Perdue are turning chicken farmers into what is essentially a legal indentured servant through tricky contracts that make it impossible for farmers to get out of them without incurring huge debts, and they don't make enough money to pay for all the "upgrades" the company forces on them to maintain the contract. The result? They can't afford to continue to work for the company but they can afford to break their contract even less.
I was very angered to see what Monsanto is doing, which I knew some of but not all. They are using bullying tactics to force farmers to use their product, such as their patented seeds which they have made illegal to replant so the farmer has to continue to buy their seeds every year. I never want to buy anything that uses Monsanto, but it's nearly impossible. I can start by avoiding corn and soy foods, since that seems to be where they dominate. And by buying locally and organic.
It's as if these companies are not only farming the land and the animals... it's like humans are being farmed too. Farmed for cheap labor, exploitation, and of course our money. All these resources are being sucked into these HUGE companies and for what? Where does it go? It's not going to the migrant workers who are being abused, or the farmers stuck in their contracts, or to clean up the chemicals being dumped into our ecosystem. It's going to line pockets, lobbying for laws in their favor, advertising to conceal what's going on, and lawyers to pressure working class people into submission.
Did you know that Monsanto sued milk companies for providing information to their customers pertaining to their own product not using Monsanto's bovine growth hormone? I have a right to know that this hormone is not in the product I am buying, but Monsanto doesn't want me to know.
I heard a woman representing beef companies say that they are against labeling because they felt it would "create fear within the consumer" before the company could "educate" them. That's really what it's all about. Don't scare the customer away by letting them know the truth about the product, just cover it up so they won't get scared and look for answers. It's all a way to keep the average American from knowing what's in their food, when we have the right to know!
I could go on and on about this topic, but instead I'll just suggest everyone watch Food, Inc. (which is available streaming on Netflix) and check out http://www.organicconsumers.org
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