As I was doing some research for quotes which I could post to my Twitter account yesterday (yes, I do have a Twitter account–it is bellisimagoddes, if you want to look for me–one “s” instead of two), I came across this very thought-provoking quote by Jane Goodall. It is much too large to post to Twitter (which allows only 140 characters), but seemed perfect for my Wellness Wednesday post.
This quote is timely in my own life. I and my husband just recently watched “Food, Inc.” and I am awaiting my book order of Michael Pollan’s book, “The Omnivore’s Dilemma for Kids: The Secrets Behind What You Eat” to share with my teenage daughters. My hope is that with Michael Pollan’s help, my daughters will better understand what is happening to the food the majority of people consume daily. My intention is that they–my daughters–will make healthier, more eco-conscious choices in their own lives. I also hope, as Jane Goodall states below, that consumers everywhere will continue to pull out more threads so that the factory food industry eventually unravels. I leave you with this quote as food for thought today:
“Michael Pollan likens consumer choices to pulling single threads out of a garment. We pull a thread from the garment when we refuse to purchase eggs or meat from birds who were raised in confinement, whose beaks were clipped so they could never once taste their natural diet of worms and insects. We pull out a thread when we refuse to bring home a hormone-fattened turkey for Thanksgiving dinner. We pull a thread when we refuse to buy meat or dairy products from cows who were never allowed to chew grass, or breathe fresh air, or feel the warm sun on their backs.
The more threads we pull, the more difficult it is for the industry to stay intact. You demand eggs and meat without hormones, and the industry will have to figure out how it can raise farm animals without them. Let the animals graze outside and it slows production. Eventually the whole thing will have to unravel. If the factory farm does indeed unravel – and it must – then there is hope that we can, gradually, reverse the environmental damage it has caused. Once the animal feed operations have gone and livestock are once again able to graze, there will be a massive reduction in the agricultural chemicals currently used to grow grain for animals. And eventually, the horrendous contamination caused by animal waste can be cleaned up. None of this will be easy.
The hardest part of returning to a truly healthy environment may be changing the current totally unsustainable heavy-meat-eating culture of increasing numbers of people around the world. But we must try. We must make a start, one by one.”
— Jane Goodall (Harvest for Hope: A Guide to Mindful Eating)
