Good Food

I love food. Let me be a bit more specific. I love good food. Therein lays the problem. What is the definition of good food? Defining good food is so subjective. For some, it is taste.  For others, taste is secondary to the source. That is, they simply want to know where the food came from, what is the source of their food. And is that source able to produce food that is pure in content. No hormones, no pesticides, nothing bad.

If you are anything like me, you have done some research on your food sources. You know that buying something that is labeled organic is supposed to be better for you and your family versus something that is grown or raised with pesticides or hormones. You know that cage-free means that the chickens were not kept cooped up in tiny cages. You may also be aware that grass-fed beef means that the cows that provided your steak were raised on a pasture, not grain-fed. However, how do you know if that was really the case?

To believe what you read on labels, you need to simply trust what you are being told. Many experts have stated that in order to truly know what you are eating is the best for you and your family; you need to go to the actual source. That means finding the farm where the product comes from, then trekking out to the farm, then talking to the farmer or rancher to see what they are doing is in par with what they say they do. Who has the time or resources to do that!?

Me.  I do. 

Ok, I’ll be honest; I really don’t have the time. I have 2 kids, work more than full-time, and volunteer several times a week for various causes. But I am really concerned with what my family and I consume. It is important for me to put the best in our bodies. So I want to make the time to go to these sources and find out what does it mean when the farmer at the weekly farmer’s market says that his eggs are cage-free, or if the pork from your favorite grocery is labeled as organic.

So, I plan on going to the source. I already have several places that I frequent for what I consider to be good food. I will interview the producers of these products and ask the questions. As a farm-boy at heart, I look forward to going back to my roots. I am looking forward to meeting with folks who make their living from the earth. I plan on pressing flesh with these fine folks to find out what I am feeding my family. And I don’t care if I get a little dirty in the process.