Eat more real food.
Did you see Michael Pollan on Oprah?
He's the journalist who wrote The Omnivore's Dillemma. His motto about food is just 7 words: Eat food. Mostly plants. Not too much.
He describes our all-American diet as edible, food-like substances. Lots of processed food and meat, lots of added fats and sugar, and not much fruits and vegetables.
A pretty grim description.
I haven't seen Food, Inc. yet, but Oprah showed a clip of a chicken farm and it's... disgusting. Chickens are cheap, yes, but are they good for us? They grow to enormous size in just 3 months, but their bones and internal organs can't keep up, so they can't walk, and they get sick, so they require antibiotics, and... is cheap food really worth it?
If good, humane food is available, would you pay more for it? I wrote about a local grass-fed beef farm -- the Blue Horseshoe Cattle Company -- a couple of months ago, and they sold out their entire stock almost immediately. That's pretty powerful proof that people want to buy better food.
YOU ARE THE BEST. Thank you too much for posting the agriculture info recently. I have a copy of food inc if you want to borrow.
King Corn, Pollan etc has really helped me make the right food choices even when I'm out. (You never know how good the chef is until you try the vegetarian dish;) Also my rancher delivers to stapleton. I luv him.
We just finished reading Pollan's Food Rules and have institated the Real Food makeover in our house. No "edible food-like substances." It's surprisingly easy and makes more sense to me than any dietary guidelines I've heard. If we all shopped and cooked like our grannies did, we'd all be a little better off.
try a hen for a pet! you can have chickens here in denver/stapleton - we share 6 with our neighbors. the kids love them & the fresh eggs are the best!!!
6 chickens living in Stapleton? That is so awesome! Can I come take pictures and see how you did it?
sure, we'd love to have you come over for the "chicken tour" anytime, but spring is much more fun when they are out roaming around more. they really aren't too fond of the snow, so are just hanging out in the coop these days. 4 families (6 kids) share the chick duties for the 6 hens. it's been great, they are really pretty easy. we'll give ya the full scoop.
shannon