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New Year’s Resolutions
(by Alexandra Heath - January 08, 2008)
“Any close and worthwhile contact with the earth tends to make one original or at least detached in one’s judgements and independent of group control.” – L.H. Bailey
A new year has begun and some people determine that in the upcoming year they will be better (usually, healthier, skinnier, more motivated or happier) during the ensuing year. Sadly, we know that most such New Year’s resolutions are relegated to the dustbin of memory and failed promises before too long.
Instead of such short-lived efforts, make a REAL difference in your life this year by vowing to become as “food independent” as possible. Anyone who keeps abreast of the news knows that much of the mega-farming that occurs in the United States is shifting from food production to bio-fuel production. Where will that leave consumers in the future with regard to the food they buy? Less food available at higher prices.
Food independence means determining exactly what you eat and either growing it yourself or supporting local farmers who grow the foods you eat. The first step in this process is keeping a food diary. I know, many of you are saying, “Boring.” But this exercise, conducted conscientiously over a week will yield some surprising results and allow you to “wake up” to what you put in your body. Folks who maintain databases in their regular employment know that what you put in the system is what you get out of it. They say “Garbage in, garbage out.” The same applies to the nutrition (or lack of it) that you put into your body.
Do you eat “fast food” regularly? Pure junk. It lacks many of the essential nutrients needed for a body to function properly and is loaded with fat, calories, and chemicals. How might you feel if you gave your body the wholesome, nutritious food it needs? You might sleep better (less insomnia), look better (good food is less caloric), feel better (with less use of pharmaceuticals to treat your physical complaints), and work more efficiently (nutritious food feeds your brain as well as your body.) How about calling for a fast food ban for the coming year? You might achieve some if not all of the goals you hoped to reach with a New Year’s resolution.
Of course, this takes both planning and education. Most people feel this is an overwhelming task, especially in today’s rush-rush world. Do one simple experiment and analyze the results in how you feel. Here’s the experiment: For one week (1/52 of a year) plan a diet that excludes fast food AND requires you to sit down at the table with at least one other person for one night of the week and have a leisurely meal with pleasant conversation. No fair watching TV while you eat. At the end of the week, take stock. Do you feel less stressed? More even-tempered? Have more energy? Sleep more deeply? Need less self-medication? Feel more in control of you life? Enjoy eating more?
Now ask yourself, in terms of difficulty, how might you feel at the end of 2008 if you replicated the experiment every week? Is the extra time you take to seek out, purchase and prepare healthy foods worth it if you can feel 52 times better than you do at the end of the week’s experiment?
L.H. Bailey, one of the foremost horticulturalists of the 20th century said, “It is possible to hoe potatoes and to hear the birds sing at the same time, although our teaching has not much developed this completeness in the minds of the people.” Perhaps you have no idea how to determine what foods are nutritious and healthy, or how to prepare them, or how to grow them, or where to find markets that sell such foods. Now is the time to educate yourself. Read some books. Take a cooking class. Develop friendships with people who grow their own food and ask them to teach you. It is after all, YOUR body. And it is your responsibility to care for it.
Happy New Year!
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