Here we go again!

Well, once again it's snowing here in the Old Dominion.  Here in our little corner of the world, we are looking at another 8-12".  We have about 4" so far and it is coming down with great intensity!

I have been thinking a lot about food.  We have been on this house journey that will hopefully end with us snuggled up on 10 acres in Goochland County, but this thought process has been forming for quite some time, and has only recently come to a head.

As a Christian I am constantly challenged by my believing friends to be a better follower of Christ, to live for Him, to lead my children ever closer to Him.  I am often discouraged by many Christ-followers who turn a blind eye to matters of environmental impact, our personal responsibility of earth stewardship, the fact that a creator wants to see his creation cared for with utmost respect (how much more The Creator).  I recently read a wonderful book entitled Gardening Eden by Michael Abbate.  What an amazing believer's perspective on, what he calls, creation care.  Recently some of my close friends are coming around to this perspective.  We seem to meet with resistance to what many see as a politically liberal issue.  Maybe it is traditionally a liberal issue, but let's not throw out the baby with the bath water!

Anyway, back to my point.  I am a member of an online community of parents (Natural and Attachment Parents of Richmond) who challenge me in so many ways.  While most of them do not share my faith, they do, overwhelmingly, seek to better themselves in ways that often convict me!

It was through this community that I was introduced to several great books.  I started off reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver.  This is an account of a family (from here in VA) who ate all local foods for a year.  This got me thinking a lot about the fact that here in the US supermarkets, there are no seasons!  I can have strawberries today if I want.  How far did they travel to get to my supermarket?  Well, pretty far, frankly.

The next book recommend that I picked up was Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan.  It gets into the business and politics of agriculture, the processes of food production, and really brings to light our government's direct role the problem of obesity!

The final straw for me, though, was the film Food, Inc.  If you haven't seen it, see it!!  It will force you to think about your buying practices.  As for me, I am done with Tyson, Perdue, Monsanto, and all the corporate animal and farmer abusers.  We will be raising our food budget to reflect the choices we will be making.  I am looking to join a natural foods co-op, when we move, we plan to grow a lot of our own food, we will commit to purchasing only free-range chicken, grass fed beef, and to treating our bodies as gently as we treat our earth.

I think I will probably be expanding on this as we get on a bit into this journey. Looking forward to growing!