Since virtually all of the food we consume is processed and packaged in some way, we have to be very diligent about making our choices. The clues to what lies within each of the different boxes are scattered throughout the package and not always easy to find or read. But since all of the concoctions lining the grocery shelves are NOT made equal, it is imperative that we do read and fully understand what we are eating. Otherwise, we are playing Russian Roulette with our health. However, recent evidence indicates that a majority of the people in this country cannot accurately decipher the clues presented them, and we are not even talking about understanding what the actual ingredients are. Click Here for details on the recent study.
It seems that people simply have not learned the skills they need to “hunt and gather” in the modern world. Certainly one of the first things our ancestors did was to educate their young about which plants were safe to consume and which were toxic. However, this critical transfer of knowledge ended right where TV dinners entered the scene. Our endless march toward everything NEW and our worship of technology has suffocated our good sense and the result is people that don’t even care what is in the box, as long as it tastes good. The boxes are full of empty promises which confuse, obfuscate and distract but the real truth is actually hidden in plain view.
Educating ourselves and our children about what we should be eating is a vital part of our survival as a healthy and productive species. Because most of what we eat is a long, long way from the place it was grown we must be ever vigilant in honing our “hunting and gathering” skills, just as our predecessors did throughout the ages. Our modern tools are not spears and lances, but books and blogs and these we must learn to wield as deftly as a hunter wields his bow and arrow. We must accept the fact that to be healthy, not simply to survive, requires effort, training and pursuit just as it always has.
Stay tuned for the upcoming series about how to read a label and what to look for.
