Picky Meater.

Haha ok, so my title may be a tad dorky and what it's really meant to say is "picky eater"-you probably got that by now, but I am writing this post to inform those of you who may not be so persnickity about your meat or picky about everything that goes into your body in general. I've watched the scary television reports about chicken, seen some disturbing footage of cows that are so malnurished and diseased that they can barely stand-however, their meat makes it right into our cheeseburger, and heard unsightly tales from the pig farmer himself, Jeb, who was in our wedding and has seen these pork factories firsthand, while studying veterinary medicine at Purdue. We know that the billion dollar food industry isn't looking out for our best interest, but we still subject ourselves to putting the most unsafe things into our body which we should be protecting with all we've got. Now, I'm not trying to go all PETA on you and I'm not saying I am a saint, I just yesterday made the vow to never eat supermarket meat again after reading the latest headlines and an article in the Carmel newspaper. There has been scary recall after recall in mainly the beef industry lately-affecting major places like schools, restaurants, etc. When you flip on the news, there is footage of these "farms" which house these animals and it is sickening to see the conditions and treatment of the animals that sooner or later wind up on your dinner plate. I honestly about vomited after watching what Katie Couric described as "viewer descretion advised." It was just horrifying to think that there is such little control and care for the food in our country. Also, after reading a Carmel man's story of suffering heart attacks and other health related issues due to poor quality meat-he turned vegetarian. Now, I'm not about to go down that road, but the reality of it all is that cheap supermarket meat is laced with carbon monoxide and red dyes to keep the meat looking fresh when it's really rotten. At some supermarkets they will mix the rotting meat with fresh meat to disguise its browning color. Research where you can purchase either organic or local meat near you. There are lots of options-buying from grocers like Wild Oats, Fresh Market, or other local stores/butchers...but make sure you ask questions and that "organic" really is indeed. Also, storage permitting, you could purchase half of a cow from a local farm to ensure quality. I realize that taking this extra step does mean extra cost, but if you can shell out money to buy gas for your car or a new pair of designer jeans-why can you not pay a few more dollars to ensure you are eating safely and doing your body, that does so much for you a favor?

Please, watch this video, and you will be shocked. I honestly cried while watching, I know I know, I'm an animal lover!

http://www.peta.org/ (Click on the link and the video is on the right, titled "Meet Your Meat")