In the movie, Food, Inc. Michael Pollan is quoted as saying: 

“The way we eat has changed more in the last 50 years than in the previous 10,000.”

When you stop and think about that, it is a very telling statement. However, that’s only one of the factors that are coming together right now to create the Perfect Storm that we are facing concerning our health. When we consider the over use of antibiotics that basically wreak havoc on our digestive tract, plus farming practices that rely heavily on chemicals for both plants and animals, and then the food industry that is manipulating our food and creating GMO’d ‘Franken-foods’ that they are passing off as improvements to Mother Nature, it is no wonder we are witnessing a tsunami  of illness and disease coming at us. Add to that, the fact that we are not doing enough to teach existing or upcoming generations about the benefits of nutrition from whole foods, then we will  be hopelessly abandoned in this man made sea of disease and illness for a very long time.  I really don’t understand why doctors are given virtually no instruction on nutrition from whole foods in all their years of education. Unless we are willing and able(plus receive the co-operation) to correct some of the practices that are causing this onslaught of illness, I think we are dooming our future generations to a life time of pain, poverty and illness. Is this what you want for your kids? I know that sounds pretty bleak but we seem to be living out that insanity scenario. You know; continually doing the same thing but expecting a different outcome? Just recently, a friend was reading an article in which it claims that glyphosate (whose best known commercial name is Roundup) has been proven to cause antibiotic resistance giving bugs a 100,000 times boost to resist pharmaceutical drugs. Plus, glyphosate is now known to be linked to more than 32 modern diseases and illnesses.  Why are we letting this happen???! Both government and medicine are already fighting a losing battle trying to keep up to the expanding number of people succumbing to illness because of our weakened immune systems. Weakened by our nutritionally depleted food supply, harmful ‘monoculture’ farming practices(using chemicals like glyphosate) and designer foods that fall way short of their luring health claims. Monoculture doesn’t really exist anywhere in nature. Nature leaves no plants in isolation; they live in symbiosis, supporting and complementing each other. The idea of monoculture was created by man to increase production, however, the volume of food means little if the food produced is nutritionally depleted and loaded with chemicals. Think  about this for a minute. If we are one of the most well fed (overweight) nations in the the world, then why are we so malnourished (sick)?

I believe we hold within us a natural stronghold that may offer us a level of protection against this oncoming tsunami. It’s called our microbiome and it has become the recent ‘hotbed’ of health interests.  This highly researched area of our biology may soon provide us with answers and maybe solutions to the diseases and illnesses that we are facing now and more that will challenge us in the future. By understanding what this new ‘organ’ is capable of doing for our health and providing it the food it really needs to function properly we might be able to force food manufacturers to supply us better quality products alive with the nutrients our bodies require and free from all that harmful chemical stuff we currently consume.

However, we all need to take action against GMO’d foods, denatured farming practices and factory created ‘nutrition’. Using our grocery dollars to make sure our voices are heard can impact the food industry in an area that they seem to pay most attention to – their pocketbooks. Let’s encourage younger members of the family to help with cooking or meal planning. Start a garden at home or even at the local school. If we can establish healthy practices in children, then maybe they will be able to get their friends involved and help spread the idea of returning to wholesome nutritious foods. Eat more organic foods, support local farms, frequent the farmers markets in your area.

Meaningful change begins at the grass roots level; that’s us. Don’t think for a moment that your voice or your actions don’t matter. Become a role model for your kids and others to follow. Future generations will be thankful for our efforts.