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carryforthtradition · 4 years

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My relationship with food, previously living with M.E. and recovering practicing an ancient, traditional self cultivation way.

I feel I need to write about food. This is a personal account. Here is a short video we made yesterday - an introduction into something very complex made simple - I hope this may help others -My relationship with food has always been healthy and I would consider it pretty traditional, in that I eat the way I was brought up to eat. I remember fondly watching my grandfather cooking the way I do now, standing in his kitchen under the clothes airer chopping up onions, carrots and potatoes for a stew and folding the vegetable peelings in newspaper to go in the compost.

Recently, under a lot of extra pressure and external stress I find myself becoming increasingly aware that I am comfort eating, and a lot of this involves sugar, and extra weight around my midriff! I’m not so concerned about how I look, but it is beginning to become an issue when I actually feel the extra weight when I am moving around, lifting myself up off the floor, tying my shoe laces and when I lie on my side it is like another body lying in front of me! I reckon I’m carrying and extra 2 stone - I don’t weigh myself, I can just grab it with two hands and at the front it is actually hanging over the waistband of my trousers.

My attitude towards food is also different to what I believe is the main narrative people are being sold (pushed) in mainstream media, be that on TV programmes, news, magazines, newspapers, food packaging, marketing… we are constantly being bombarded with different, quite often conflicting messages -

We are constantly being told - eat this and you will feel great; this is the magic pill to lose weight; the magic pill to heal everything; you need to eat this; you don’t need to eat that; omit this from your diet and you will feel great; you are glucose intolerant; have intolerances…. buy our vitamin supplements, processed foods, nitrates, phosphates, our food has been so tampered with it has additives, MSG, artificial sweeteners, flavourings, there is GMO food, monoculture farming, nutrient depleted soil, pesticides, we’re told all the bees are dying, the world is dying, our food is not nutritious any more; there is intensive farming, we need to eat organic, eat local, food shipped is across the globe, chicken from China is been sold in the US, we are eating bleached chicken scraped off the floor, inhumane practices, vegetarian, vegan, you are not human if you eat meat, if you don’t eat meat your body will be unwell, you’re a Hippy if you don’t eat meat, eat more greens, don’t take salt, or eggs, or pate if you are pregnant, or shrimps, drink vinegar if you’re losing your hair, you need this, you need that….. it is endless………

…….you get the idea. Even writing down what flew into my head just then illustrates the overload and chaotic mess we have been bombarded with for as long as I can remember. There must be some thread of truth running through all of this and this is what I am trying to discover. To strip away and break free from all the, what I perceive as, nonsense and social conditioning. It’s like one huge big experiment has been playing out to take us away from what is natural, God given, native, regional, locally grown or reared and to lead us to mess and experiment and with nature, overly rely on technology and science instead of the all the nourishing information and wisdom handed down to us over eons from experience. I personally find it disrespectful and ungrateful in some ways. Has this modern obsession with manufactured and processed food actually improved or enhanced our lives? If you ask me, I’d say no - return to tradition! Thankfully I have friends on this same quest.

In a nutshell - to see where I’m coming from - I realise that I enjoy everything I eat. There is nothing I won’t eat other than raw meat, raw fish or raw eggs. I don’t drink alcohol or take any drugs. I’m not vegetarian or vegan. I eat what I perceive as nourishing and healthy. I don’t drink enough water. I drink too much caffeine. I don’t take any supplements. Or medication. I don’t have set times when I eat and I sleep or exercise. I have little routine. Some weeks I eat loads and loads and some weeks I eat very little, and have been like this all my life since childhood. I tend to follow my instincts. I’m aware we need to eat a variety of foods and to have a balanced diet and not gorge on too much of the same thing - and I’m also aware that there are many people who are not as fortunate as I, who eat and survive on what they have available even if it is only a small amount of rice or millet and nothing else. The human body is incredible. The human mind and resilience is incredible.

To go back a little into my past, as I mentioned, I was raised eating what I would regard as traditional home made food, things such as a Sunday dinner of meat, vegetables, potatoes, Yorkshire puddings and gravy. I eat fish, salads, pasta and sauces, soups, rice and stir fries, curries, pies, vegetables, cooked breakfasts….. I buy the odd ready-made meal like a moussaka or lasagne, frozen breaded fish, fries, tinned food, some processed food. I go through phases like making bread at home in a machine/buying it, making my own preserves, batch cooking from scratch and freezing it. I quite often live on left-overs and sometimes even add new ingredients to a huge stew done in a earthenware clay pot, or our slow cooker, made the day before, to transform it into another meal. I will even eat a take away curry the next morning for breakfast! I lived in Singapore for years and for breakfast sometimes I would have rice, fried egg, fish and chilli, I’m more of a savoury fan than of sugar. I will try new foods quite happily, and new fruits and vegetables I’ve never seen before. I’m not aware that I have any crazy habits other than my recent comfort eating - which has been highlighted this year, which includes eating Haribo jelly sweets just before I go to sleep and wriggling around uncomfortably, probably due to all the sugar and weird additives. Do you actually know what it is you are eating half the time? I can’t even pronounce half the ingredients.

In 2005 I had a serious accident on the motorway, which led me to being diagnosed with M.E, and on top of that when I was 18 I’d had a car crash and my sacrum was twisted through whiplash and lodged in my pelvis, which cause serious pains in my spine and back most of my life. Another accident on a jet ski in Malaysia in 1996 - which I believe also nearly ended my life, meant I had been bashed around quite a lot - I had actually ended up in a hospital in Singapore - where I lived at the time - on a traction bed for a week which was fun I recall - I could lift myself up and down and the push of a button! (I could do with that now to lift up my lard ass - oops!)

From 2005 - 2011 I really struggled with M.E. and my spinal injuries. I remember lots of pain, problems at different times walking as swinging my leg forward was very painful. Sometimes I couldn’t feel my legs. M.E. is horrible., I was absolutely drained, exhausted. Pain in my body and head was relentless. I looked ok, and had lo live knowing many people thought I was making it up, and because sometimes I was ok, and lived pretty normal life, I would get lots of remarks like ‘pull yourself together’ which I eventually began to ignore, and understood people really didn’t understand, so it wasn’t their fault.

I had spent years trying different things to help my back problems, radiotherapy, massage, keeping myself fit, in Singapore where I lived from 1995 - 2001, I went swimming almost every day and walked everywhere and I did yoga every day for about 15 years. I was fit and healthy up until 2005.

For those of you reading this with M.E., you will understand. It is very difficult to live with. You have to learn to pace yourself. I could do one small thing in a day and end up in bed for a week or two afterwards. If, for example, a wedding came up, to prepare myself I would sleep most of the time for 2 weeks before the special day so I could get through it on the day. It’s like being trapped in your own body, my mind wanted to do things, but my body just couldn’t cope. I didn’t have depression, but it was becoming increasingly harder to remain optimistic as there was no cure.

I was told my organs would probably deteriorate earlier than others and that it could lead to heart problems, and my fitness levels decreased so much at times that I found it hard to get upstairs, never mind out the house for a walk. But this was off and on. It is sneaky, when you think you’re ok, you do too much, and pay the consequences. In the worst times, the ringing in my ears, pain in my eyes in bright light, the ability to talk for 5 minutes before my head hurt, then shutting down and needing to lie down and slip into sleep, the only place it didn’t hurt, was unbearable. My life shrank. I stopped communicating with many people because I just couldn’t handle talking. I relied on my family and close friends and they were amazing, because sometimes I was ok, and it must have been very frustrating and baffling for them too. I couldn’t watch T.V, read a book, go on the computer, or do anything that needed any amount of concentration for longer than minutes at a time before indescribable pain in my head, my brain would make me shut down. I couldn’t breathe and my whole body felt like it was bursting.

Over 6 years, obviously I looked into cures, as you would, and tried lots of different things. Food being the one I focussed on the most. I tired different diets, eating one thing, omitting another. I tried omitting dairy, it didn’t work. Sugar, it didn’t work. Gluten, didn’t work. Meat, didn’t work………. this went on and on. I tried supplements, different combinations, different amounts and I rattled with supplements at times. It didn’t work.

A slight breakthrough came when I came across ‘Forever Living’ Aloe Vera. It was the only improvement to my general well being - I even signed up to them so I could buy it cheaper, and would drink some every day, and I also took bee propolis - a natural anti biotic. I was on no other medication - a saving grace when I look back as I never became dependant on any drugs or medication - my doctor said there wasn’t anything she could prescribe. I didn’t take pain killers either. Nothing.

In 2009 I signed up for a short course called the Lighting Process, which was ‘NLP’ and it did help me realise I had more control over my brain than I had realised, but it didn’t cure me, although it helped me to think about things slightly differently. I’d had to give up teaching in 2006 aged and over 6 years of living with this illness, I gave up any desire to conquer the world, my ambitions, the many adventures to continue my travels in the world, doing the great British Coast to Coast walk, achieving anything significant, working outdoors, a career, having children….. In 2008 me and my husband decided to go for it and fly to New Zealand and live in a van for 6 months, which we did, and it was amazing. I was in beautiful surroundings ill, instead of at home ill! We had hoped it would cure me. We even swam with a dolphin (who actually looked like it felt sorry for me as I floated on the surface of the water in my wetsuit with loads of lead weights around my waist because I couldn’t sink and I couldn’t breathe properly through the snorkel - not as romantic or life changing as I had expected!) Being in nature did make me feel a lot happier, but I didn’t recover. (If you’re wondering how I got there - I just got there like anyone else, but just slept anytime I could and suffered knowing at the other end I would be somewhere quiet) The trip taught me a lot, by this time, I had resigned myself the the fact that I would be living with this for the rest of my life I began to realise I could be happy with my lot, and appreciated how incredibly fortunate and lucky I was. I still really enjoyed the whole experience, the precious time with my husband - who is a diamond. He stood firmly by my side and still does. I let go of more attachments and expectations and found some level of contentment.

In 2011, I received a leaflet though my door to learn Falun Dafa (Falun Gong) a traditional Buddhist self cultivation practice, a mind and body practice free to learn in a local community centre, with 4 exercises that reminded me of Tai Chi and a sitting meditation. It said the teachings focussed on the Universal Principles of truth, compassion and tolerance. After trying everything else, I decided to go and see what it was and I took my husband’s mum along too.

And it’s no secret that it was in fact by practicing Falun Dafa that I made a full recovery. There have been numerous studies written about the healing effects of this traditional, ancient practice. I am testimony to it. It means I am working on myself, looking deep inside myself to figure myself out and it highlights any addictions and attachments I may have that are not beneficial to either myself or to others - so it is all good. It has highlighted my comfort eating is a deep rooted issue I need to unearth and overcome, and at the moment I think it is linked to grief or fear…..

Since I began the practice in 2011, I have been campaigning on a huge scale (I’ve organised briefings in Parliament, run local campaigns, coordinated art exhibitions screened films, spent thousands of hours on the streets handing out information and lots of other things) about the persecution of Falun Gong who are being targeted and killed by the CCP Chinese communist party in China for their beliefs in truth, compassion and tolerance, and forcibly harvested for their organs whilst still alive - I will add some links below. It has been traumatic, to say the least, and stressful and taken a tremendous amount of energy, effort and courage for me to stand up to this and not be afraid. Last year on top of this continuous effort I looked after my dying aunt who I loved dearly. It was very intense. And now, of course, we have Covic-19 which I ‘lovingly’ call the #CCPVIRUS and we are locked in our homes, not really quite knowing what is going on any more! We are truly living in times of uncertainty. Yet, I believe everything will come good and am optimistic and will carry on doing what I do the best I can. The CCP’s days are indeed numbered.

So back to today - bearing all this in mind - I have fortunately discovered for myself through my own experience that food alone cannot heal my body and mind. I conclude that food is like a tool, something needed to nourish the body and when it is out of balance I’m becoming increasingly aware of the subtle messages my body gives to me. For example, if I eat too much I can’t move; too much sugar, I feel tired; my joints hurt, because there is too much acid in my body, probably from eating too much meat; if I don’t drink enough water, my skin is dry; and other noticeable sensations or manifestations. And I have yet to overcome the deep emotional pain I carry with me to make me strong enough to overcome cravings and break free!

So, I have turned to my dear friends for support and advice - and this is where our Carry Forth Tradition Quentin comes in - he has years of experience with food, nutrition and diet and all sorts of other amazing things and experiences. And he has kindly offered to see if there are any tweaks he can suggest to improve my diet a little, maybe a healthy food to cure a craving instead of a sugary one, a change to my routine, the amount I eat (I have been so brainwashed I don’t even know what a healthy amount is to eat), to help me get more control back and balance my food intake. This in turn will help me face my deeper demons and overcome them. Some of our Carry forth Tradition writers may join in too! We will log my eating habits, and daily routines and see what we discover.

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vikmali-blog · 4 years

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Smart Business in the Short Run, Unsustainable in the Long Run [FINAL]

A lot of people, including me, eat food every single day not wondering where it comes from. How is this food processed? Who is control of our food? Today, there are four large industries that control more than 80 percent of the market for beef, as opposed to the top 5 companies that controlled 25 percent of the market for beef back then. This is the epitome of monopoly, which makes me wonder, how is this even allowed in the United States. It’s not like the government is benefiting. One private company controls almost the entire food industry. Well, these companies succeeded by creating a method by producing more cheap produce/meat in a short period of time, taking advantages of farmers, and labeling their products as “farmer grown” [1]. On top of that, these companies don’t even allow people to see what is actually in their food. How do we not have authority to know what we are eating?

In order to make more money, companies that produce our food prioritize the ability to generate a lot of food in an affordable price. It all started with McDonald’s. It was a huge success because the system of restaurants changed dramatically. Food was produced quickly for a cheap price, due to the reason that workers were taught to do one thing only just like a factory. This made it easier for replacement and workers were paid minimum wage. McDonalds created a smart business tactic but started an unsustainable food industry [1].

First, big industries such as Perdue and Tyson, figured out a way to generate more cheap produce/meat in a short period of time just like McDonald’s. McDonald’s changed the way how ground beef is produced, so they could all taste the same. Regarding meat, companies attempt to grow as many animals as they can with the most amount of fat just like an assembly line. Tyson, the biggest meat market in the world, raise and slaughter chickens half the time as opposed to 50 years ago. Moreover, these chickens are twice as big to the point where they cannot even walk anymore. Consumers prefer chicken breast, so these chickens are stuffed with food and antibiotics. Tyson farmer, Vince, said “if you could grow a chicken in 49 days, why would you want chicken that could grow in 3 months? More money in your pocket” [1]. Cows, too, are stuffed with food so that companies could sell as much meat as possible. The most common food fed to these animals is corn. Cows are not designed to eat corn but rather grass. Regardless, these cows are fed corn, because corn is cheap, and corn makes them fat. The average American eats over 200 pounds of meat every year thanks to corn. As a result, these food industries encourage farmers to grow as much corn as they could. Feeding animals is just one use of corn. It has so much starch which can be used for almost all food products. Because of corn’s important contribution to the food industry, 30 percent of land in the United States is just for corn growth. Around 100 years ago, a farmer could grow roughly 20 bushes of corn in one acre. Today, on the other hand, 200 bushes are grown due to plant breeders, fertilizers, and pesticides. Food industries take advantage of the advanced technologies to generate more cheap produce/meat in a short period of time [1].

Second, food industries take advantages of small farms in order to get the maximum produce/meat necessary for the industry to profit. What made me empathize for the farmers is that “a typical grower with two chicken houses has borrowed over $500,000, and earns about $18,000 a year” [1]. Basically, all starting farmers are in debt due to the farmhouse and equipment. Carole, who was once a farmer for Perdue, explained that the average amount for a poultry house is 280 to 380 thousand dollars. She claims that these large food industry companies “keep farmers under their thumb” [1]. Carole lost her contract with Perdue because she refused to upgrade to the dark-tunnel ventilated houses. She explains how these industries treat farmers not as a farmer but as a worker of a “mass production like an assembly line in a factory” [1]. Chicken are surrounded with feces and dust; yet, these industries don’t seem to care. If farmers like Carole refuse to abide to these rules, these food industries will move on to the next farmer. Farmer’s debt is, unfortunately, a major advantage for food industries’ success.

Third, good industries tend to label their products as “farmer grown” tricking customers to buying it. The straight up fact is that meat is not coming from these beautiful, open-spaced farms portrayed on the packaging. They are coming from little, tight assembly lines. Yet, why do they label their packages with cute little farmhouses? The food industry does not want to let us know what we’re actually eating because if we knew we might not eat it. If we saw how chicken in salad that we had for lunch was actually raised, we might never eat meat again. This food world is deliberately hidden from us. Vince, a farmer contracted with Tyson, was not allowed to show us what the inside of his dark-tunnel ventilated house looked like. I think that that is absolutely insane! When the health inspector comes into a restaurant, the owner can’t just close the door on him/her [1]. My question is, why does the government allow this sort of monopoly to continue to thrive? Why doesn’t the government get more involved in matters regarding what kind of food their own citizens eat?

Figure 1. Food Industry Labelling: When looking at the Perdue food label, you see a nice little farm. As a result, you would expect your chicken grown in a farm that looks like the one in the top right. But in reality, food industries grow chicken in farms (better known as assembly lines) that look like the two bottom pictures.

Not only are food industries deceiving the consumer, but they are also misusing land on Earth. It’s absolutely insane how the United States government allows for food industries to use 30 percent of its land just for corn [1]. The “Symphony of Soil” clip went in depth on the topic of how soil is created. The common theme is that it takes years for soil to gain the necessary nutrients required for plants and microorganisms. Erosion moves nutrients around causing various of sediments such as loess, clay, and sand to mix and become soil. Water, wind, and glaciers can deposit material to form soil. Soils could also form in place, such as rocks that are exposed. About 75% of soil is formed by transported soil and the other 25% is formed in place (in the mountains). This takes years! For example, a forest on the Hawaiian island developed in 300 years. Organic material needs to accumulate in soil in order for plants and microorganisms to thrive. Carbon dioxide with sunlight is transformed in carbohydrates by photosynthesis which feeds many of the living microorganisms of the soil. These microorganisms in return protect the plants and fixes nitrogen. What amazes me is that 40% of the United States has the two best soils—alfisols and mollisols. Yet, food industries tend to use this soil for planting monoculture, which quickly destroys any sort of plant and microorganism biodiversity [2]. Once the soil is destroyed, we would have to wait another hundreds of years for it to regain its proper use. WHY are we allowing these companies to profit from vulnerable farmers, animals, and Earth’s soil while their wallets get thicker?

Word Count: 1,282

Works Cited:

[1] Food Inc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smk2xq2l3Ig

[2] Symphony of Soil

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDZVKMe2FTg

0 notes

vikmali-blog · 5 years

Text

Smart Business in the Short Run, Unsustainable in the Long Run

A lot of people, including me, eat food every single day not wondering where it comes from or the processes required to make it. Who is control of our food? Today, there are four large industries that control more than 80 percent of the market for beef, as opposed to the top 5 companies that controlled 25 percent of the market for beef back then. This is the epitome of monopoly, which makes me wonder, how is this even allowed in the United States. Well, these companies succeeded by creating a method by producing more cheap produce/meat in a short period of time, taking advantages of farmers, and labeling their products as “farmer grown.” [1] On top of that, these companies don’t even allow people to see what is actually in their food.

The goal of industries that produce our food is to quickly generate a lot of food in an affordable price to make more money. It all started with McDonald’s. It was a huge success because the system of restaurants changed. Food was produced quickly and for a cheap price, due to the reason that workers were taught to do one thing only. This made it easier for replacement and were paid minimum wage. McDonalds created a smart business tactic but started an unsustainable food industry [1].

First, big industries such as Perdue and Tyson, figured out a way to generate more cheap produce/meat in a short period of time just like McDonald’s. McDonald’s changed the way how ground beef is produced, so they could all taste the same. Regarding meat, companies attempt to grow as many animals as they could with the most amount of fat just like an assembly line. Tyson, the biggest meat market in the world, raise and slaughter chickens half the time as opposed to 50 years ago. Moreover, these chickens are twice as big to the point where they cannot even walk anymore. Consumers prefer chicken breast, so these chickens are stuffed with food and antibiotics. Tyson farmer, Vince, said “if you could grow a chicken in 49 days, why would you want chicken that could grow in 3 months? More money in your pocket” [1]. Cows, too, are stuffed with food so that companies could sell as much meat as possible. The most common food that is fed to these animals are corn. Cows are not designed to eat corn but rather grass. Regardless, these cows are fed corn, because it is cheap and makes them fat. The average American eats over 200 pounds of meat every year thanks to corn. As a result, these food industries encourage farmers to grow as much corn as they could. Feeding animals is just one use of corn. It has so much starch which can be used for almost all food products. Because of corn’s important contribution to the food industry, 30 percent of land in the United States is for corn growth. Around 100 years ago, a farmer could grow roughly 20 bushes of corn in one acre. Today, 200 bushes are grown due to plant breeders, fertilizers, and pesticides. Food industries take advantage of the advanced technologies to generate more cheap produce/meat in a short period of time [1].

Second, food industries take advantages of small farms in order to get the maximum produce/meat necessary. What made me empathize for the farmers is that “a typical grower with two chicken houses has borrowed over $500,000, and earns about $18,000 a year” [1]. Basically, all starting farmers are in dent due to the farmhouse and equipment. Carole, who was once a farmer for Perdue, explained that the average amount for a poultry house is 280 to 380 thousand dollars. She claims that these large food industry companies “keep farmers under their thumb” [1]. Carole lost her contract with Perdue because she refused to upgrade to the dark-tunnel ventilated houses. She explains how these industries treat farmers not as a farmer but as a worker of a “mass production like an assembly line in a factory” [1]. Chicken are surrounded with feces and dust; yet, these industries don’t seem to care. If farmers like Carole refuse to abide to these rules, these food industries will move on to the next farmer. Farmer’s debt is, unfortunately, a major advantage for food industries’ success.

Third, good industries tend to label their products as “farmer grown” tricking the customer to buying it. The straight up fact is that meat is not coming from farms portrayed on the packaging. They are coming from large assembly lines. Yet, why do they label their packages with cute little farmhouses? The food industry does not want to let you know what you’re actually eating because if you knew you might not eat it. If you saw how your chicken in your salad that you had for lunch was actually raised, you might never eat meat again. This food world is deliberately hidden from us. Vince, a farmer contracted with Tyson, was not allowed to show us what the inside of his dark-tunnel ventilated house looked like. I think that that is absolutely insane! When the health inspector comes into a restaurant, the owner can’t just close the door on him/her [1]. My question is, why does the government allow this sort of monopoly to continue to thrive? Why doesn’t the government get more involved in matters regarding what kind of food their own citizens eat?

Not only are food industries deceiving the consumer, but they are also misusing land on Earth. It’s absolutely insane how the government allows for food industries to use 30 percent of its land just for corn [1]. The “Symphony of Soil” clip went in depth on the topic of how soil is created. The common theme is that it takes years for soil to gain the necessary nutrients required for plants and microorganisms. Erosion moves nutrients around causing various of sediments such as loess, clay, and sand to mix and become soil. Water, wind, and glaciers can deposit material to form soil. Soils could also form in place, such as rocks that are exposed. About 75% of soil is formed by transported soil and the other 25% is formed in place (in the mountains). This takes years. For example, a forest on the Hawaiian island developed in 300 years. Organic material needs to accumulate in soil in order for plants and microorganisms to thrive. Carbon dioxide with sunlight is transformed in carbohydrates by photosynthesis which feeds many of the living microorganisms of the soil. These microorganisms in return protect the plants and fixes nitrogen. What amazes me is that 40% of the United States has the two best soils—alfisols and mollisols. Yet, food industries tend to use this soil for planting monoculture, which destroys any sort of plant and microorganism biodiversity [2]. Once the soil is destroyed, we would have to wait another hundreds of years for it to regain its proper use. WHY are we allowing these companies to profit from vulnerable farmers, animals, and Earth’s soil while their wallets get thicker?

Word Count: 1,227

Works Cited:

[1] Food Inc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smk2xq2l3Ig

[2] Symphony of Soil

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDZVKMe2FTg\

0 notes