Live in Health, Locally

The easier way to know where your food is coming from is do buy local. I highly recommend seeking out articles and books about the meat industry and how food is grown and shipped in the United States, but we don’t always have the time to curl up with a good, heart-wrenching read. Instead, try and get your produce from your local farmer’s market. Talk to the growers, ask if they use pesticides (if you’re concerned about that), buy produce that’s actually in season in your climate. If you don’t have a local farmer’s market near you, when you’re at the supermarket, see if the produce sold there states where it’s from. Try and pick items that are grown in your state. when it comes to your diet being picky is a good thing.

Organic, Free-Range, and Farm Raised: Which is Healthier?

As for meat, don’t be fooled by the “organic, free-range” label. The standards for what constitutes “free range” are silly-it means that instead of being held in the stocks they can “roam” in a 3×3 space. Sounds quite luxurious, does it not? Eggs are the same story-don’t imagine that these chickens are flying all over a green field eating corn to their heart’s delight. They’re probably still pumped full of hormones and left to waddle in their obesity in their slightly larger prison, trying to peck at one another with their phantom beaks. A jail is still a jail, no matter how big the cell. Again, if you’re fortunate enough to have a local farmer’s market, ask around! I saw plenty of local farmers who were offering beautiful cuts of lamb, beef and chicken, as well as softly speckled eggs in cardboard containers. Farmers who are proud of their way their animals were raised (and slaughtered) have nothing to hide.

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photo credit: Philippe Romagon

You are probably familiar with the term “vegan.” Maybe you know a good deal about it already, or possibly you think the word is some anarchist, hippie term whispered in patchouli-scented coffee shops. However you think about this eating and lifestyle choice, this article will help dispel any myths about what veganism really is, help present the facts on its benefits and drawbacks, and guide you in your considerations for your own health and wellness choices.

What is Vegan?

Vegan, or veganism, is a diet lifestyle choice that seek to exclude the use of all animal products. For eating, this means no meat, no dairy, no eggs, no cheese, nothing that comes from any animal whatsoever. Some vegans also chose to not wear or buy any products made from leather, suede or other such animal items. Simply put: if it has any animal-based components, strict vegans avoid it. How far you take veganism would be completely up to you.

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