half the USA sits around doing nothing but eating fast food and drinking soda, and they want us to worry about how our tomatoes are packaged

[Edited on December 3, 2011 at 3:17 PM. Reason : .]

12/3/2011 3:17:21 PM

Quote :

"yea duke im sure you were eating produce raised in its natural environment"

I mean, it wasn't all wild game (though there was a little of that) and nuts and berries and shit gathered in the woods, but it was grown, brought inside, washed, and either eaten or canned/frozen. The cattle grazed in pastures, weren't given any weird hormones or anything, and were slaughtered, butchered, and frozen. Pretty much everyone in the family had a big deep freezer for beef and vegetables.

We weren't like weird communal hippies or anything...it's not that I never ate anything from a store or at a restaurant (although we didn't go out to eat all that much back then, because it was expensive). My grandmother cooked all the time, and both of my parents cooked.

12/3/2011 7:03:59 PM

Quote :

"Limit your meat and fish consumption, try to eat local, freeze or can what you can't use. Don't eat processed foods. Exercise more. There, I simplified this list."

There, I fixed your list.

It is still the norm around the world for fish to be caught wild and not farmed, so just make sure the fish you are eating isn't farmed. Eating [wild caught] fish is one of the best things you can do for your body. Oh, and wild caught doesn't mean caught in some small murky stream/lake next to a coal power plant.

And if you really want the best benefits, make it oily fish (salmon, sardines, mackerel, herring, anchovies, etc).

12/4/2011 1:33:24 AM

^ The problem is that a lot of the wild fish populations are over-fished. So even wild fish can be a crappy choice unless you don't give a shit about your grandkids not knowing what tuna is.

Environmental Defense Fund has a pretty good list of what fish stocks are doing well and what to avoid: http://apps.edf.org/page.cfm?tagID=1521

12/4/2011 12:16:08 PM

^ Agreed. Was going to mention that caveat as well, but slipped my mind.

12/4/2011 12:52:46 PM

Quote :

"I mean, it wasn't all wild game (though there was a little of that) and nuts and berries and shit gathered in the woods, but it was grown, brought inside, washed, and either eaten or canned/frozen. The cattle grazed in pastures, weren't given any weird hormones or anything, and were slaughtered, butchered, and frozen. Pretty much everyone in the family had a big deep freezer for beef and vegetables. We weren't like weird communal hippies or anything...it's not that I never ate anything from a store or at a restaurant (although we didn't go out to eat all that much back then, because it was expensive). My grandmother cooked all the time, and both of my parents cooked."

That sounds a lot like my grandparents on my mom's side. They tended about 5 acres of crops, raised hogs, had a dozen or so chickens running around for fresh eggs daily, canned vegetables every year, had a couple pecan trees, and kept a very basic lifestyle. Occasionally my granddad would take us fishing and my grandma would fry the catch. Like your family, everyone had a huge deep freezer. When the hogs were slaughtered everything was saved that could be used. Family and friends would share/trade their beef, venison, and pork so there was a little variety. They still bought stuff like milk, corn flakes, baking supplies (flour, sugar, salt), etc; but a huge part of their diet came from the land right around their house. They never had much money, but they made out just fine and never worked in a cubicle or office a day in their life. They both lived well into their 80s and were pretty mobile right up until the end.

[Edited on December 4, 2011 at 1:38 PM. Reason : l]

12/4/2011 1:32:20 PM

Quote :

"They never had much money, but they made out just fine and never worked in a cubicle or office a day in their life. They both lived well into their 80s and were pretty mobile right up until the end."

And I bet they were SO MUCH happier than the cubicle campers, too!

12/4/2011 1:46:54 PM