Thoughts
As I’ve mentioned, I’ve recently made the decision to cut back on animal products & dairy. I’ve never been a big meat eater, but I’ve definitely devoured my share of cheese, milk, and Greek yogurt. About a month ago I decided it was time for a change.
My decision to reduce my intake of animal products, dairy in particular, is 2 fold. (Well actually more like 8 fold, but for sake of time, let’s say 2.)
- Hormones & antibiotic use in cows
- Pain & disease prevention
I grew up a big milk drinker. I loved it. A glass of milk with every meal, in my cereal, whenever I was thirsty… My mom & I went through a gallon of milk every few days. Yet when I was 22, I was diagnosed with osteopenia (the ugly little sister of osteoporosis). Obviously there are many factors that lead to osteoporosis, but I still started to lose my blind trust in milk. Did you know that China has almost no osteoporosis, but consumes very little dairy? (Can you hear my wheels start to turn?)
Let me first say that I don’t think there’s anything wrong with milk or dairy- it’s not a bad thing per se. But I do wonder what happens to the milk we’re drinking when so many things have to happen in order to produce enough milk for us all to enjoy. Hormones are pumped into cows to make them produce more milk to meet consumer demand. The cows are also loaded with antibiotics to help prevent udder infections from constantly being milked. None of this sounds good for the cow, and none of this sounds good for me. (Ever hear the phrase “you are what you eat”? How about “you are what you eat eats”?)
This point hit home when I was reading the book Food, Inc. (The same Food, Inc. as the documentary, but not exactly the same story. I’ll give a more in depth review later!) There is a section in the book called “Promoting Growth at Any Cost”, which talks about the genetically engineered growth hormone called recombinant bovine growth hormone, or rBGH (also rBST), which is used to increase milk production in about 22% of all dairy cows in the US. (The FDA’s approval of the hormone was based on a study by Monsanto- if you’ve seen the movie, warning bells should be going off in your head. If you haven’t seen it, I’ll tell you about it when I review the whole book.)
Use of rBGH increases udder infections by 25%, thereby increasing antibiotic use. Antibiotic use in animals is widespread- the problem with that is antibiotics cause bacteria to become resistant, meaning infections become harder & harder to treat.
The artificial hormone also increases the hormone ‘insulin-like growth factor-1’ (IGF-1) in cows. Elevated IGF-1 in humans is linked to colon, breast, and prostate cancer.
The US is the only industrialized country that hasn’t banned rBGH/rBST use.
This is just a small snippet of the bigger picture, but it’s enough to get me listening. Such hormones and antibiotics aren’t used in ALL cows- it’s possible to find milk that doesn’t have these artificial additives with a little research & education (many organic brands don’t use it, but you might have to do a little digging- use of hormones does not legally need to be included on the label.)
But for me, that’s not the only piece of the picture. The main reason I’m cheating on my long-standing relationship with dairy is more personal…
Check out part II of breaking up with dairy.
Food thoughts
I’m willing to say I’m pretty educated when it comes to food. That being said, I wasn’t really shocked or startled by the documentary Food, Inc. I thought it was an educational, potentially eye-opening movie for many ,many people, but it didn’t knock me off my feet.
It did get me thinking though. The one part that really hit home for me was when they showed the chicken growing exponentially. These days, chickens grow much bigger, much faster= and with specific larger body parts ( i.e. breasts).
How exactly are they making this happen? For a human to grow bigger, faster, you inject them with growth hormone & steroids. To get bigger boobs without plastic parts you need more of certain hormones. I could hardly imagine it would be a much different process for the chickens.
Now I was curious. I needed to learn more. So I started reading. and reading. and reading.
I started noticing the same things over and over again. Not all of the information was new to me, I was just understanding it in a different way this time. Ignore the whole for-the-love-of-animals part of not eating meat for a minute- I’m talking about understanding the implications that producing more food faster has on our bodies, the animals, and the planet. It’s bigger than “puppies are cute, so I won’t eat cows”. It’s about mass production increasing disease, inducing poor treatment, affecting farmers economically– at what cost?
These are some of the things that have been rolling around in my head. I am NOT preaching about them. We’re just talking. No judging. Just sharing information, thoughts, opinions. It’s a HUGE topic, so I’m not throwing it out there all at once. But here’s the summary of how I feel:
– The effect mass production of meat has on increasing disease bothers me.
– The chemicals being put into animals & what they are being fed and therefore what people are eating bothers me.
– The fact that food travels literally 1,000s of miles to get somewhere it doesn’t grow in a season it would never survive bothers me.
So why did I need to give you all that background of why I eat what I eat just to tell you this? It’s because these things have encouraged me to look at what I eat beyond it’s taste & nutrition. I’m not saying I’m going vegan and committing to a life of local foods. I am saying that I want to be more conscious. What am I really eating? Where did it come from, and what did it take to get it in my hands?
Whether I reduce my meat/dairy/eggs intake, I don’t know. But that’s why you needed the background. I’m not comfortable with labels, or all or nothing. I am comfortable with learning more and being more aware. Even if I decide fish is “bad”, that doesn’t mean I might not eat it if I go to a restaurant. Or maybe I’ll learn something horrible about eggs or milk. I’ll bet you I’ll probably still eat a cupcake . Does that make me a hypocrit? Not in my eyes, although I can understand why some might think otherwise.
Reduction still makes a difference. Just because someone eats one donut doesn’t mean they’ll get fat. And not eating 1000 donuts just because you might have 1 donut sometime, will still help you be healthy. I know it’s not the same, but I can’t really come up with a better analogy.
It’s like Earth Day yesterday- yes, that one plastic bag you don’t use at the grocery store does make a difference.
So here’s where I stand: I’m pretty sure I’ve decided to cut back what little meat I do eat, along with eggs, milk, cheese, and other dairy.
You might have noticed I didn’t say I’m becoming a vegan. My intention to remain label-less is deliberate. If you don’t have a label, or rules, you’re not breaking them, and you’re not being hypocritical.
I believe that even reducing my intake makes a significant difference, and it gives me the chance to learn more—without it being overwhelming.
I’ll share more about some of the things I’ve read & specific issues/questions I’ve come across, but I thought it was more important to put the background out there first.
What have you come across that has influenced you’re eating behavior?
