The Organic Oregonians

Good afternoon everyone! That is if you haven't completely abandoned our blog since I haven't posted anything in a looooong time. We are doing great. Daddy-Bear has been balancing his time between the railroad, the police department, the airbase, and college. Momma-Bear is starting to show her cute little tummy which has started to announce itself very well. Unfortunately she still fights with nausea in the evenings, but her and the Bear-Cub are healthy. We have officially laid to rest the idea of finding out the gender before birth. We are currently contemplating names for both. Matty-Bear continues to excel in her studies and violin as well as help Momma-Bear with some chores and daily tasks. Katie-Bear continues to be our Bi-Polar-Bear (get it, ok... lame and insensitive, I apologize). She is actually doing very well, still loves to fight with us though. She is spunky as ever and has started some school. Joy-Bear is doing wonderful. Her favorite hobby is still eating and although mealtimes can still be a challenge and an apparent emotional roller coaster for her, she is doing much better. She has learned to know when enough is enough for the most part (generally we have to tell her which she doesn't always like). When she fusses, Momma-Bear will calmly say, "Go to your room," and off little Joy-Bear will go to finish her fit. She comes out moments later after she's done crying and that's that. We deal with it and move on, hopefully learning from the experience.

Ok, enough animal annotations for our names. Like I said, we all have been doing very well and keeping very busy. We have had a life changing movement in our family however, one for the better. I'll start by saying it began with our neighbor who let us watch "Food Inc." If you've seen it, you know where I'm going, if you haven't, then watch it.

The documentary essentially explores how food has become the money maker it is, and how we (as a society) have altered (destroyed) it. It dives into dilemmas we face such as nutrition and health, and what is really in our foods and the impact our "new" foods have on us and the environment.

Now before I go on, don't worry family and friends, we haven't joined a cult or anything.

What he have done is opened our eyes to what we eat as a family. We took the basic piece of the film (which like any documentary may contain inaccuracies) and researched the issue ourselves. What we found has forever changed us for the better. I don't believe we were ever ignorant, just... well, maybe a little ignorant. We knew some of the stuff we ate was bad, we just either didn't care or were too lazy to look into it a little more, or probably a little of both. Well the fact is we feel strongly about this and decided to do something about it as a family. For the past couple weeks we have not replenished our stock of "normal" groceries, but after researching, have instead replenished the items with a more healthy choice, organic. Shawna has really been spearheading our efforts as the shopper and has been integral part of our changing dynamics. We have sworn off the norm of genetically altered foods and foods that have been treated with pesticides instead opting for the usually smaller but better organic items.

To supplement our new change, we also had a reality check of how much we eat. We have drastically cut back (well, at least me since I can eat like a hog) on our food intake eating not only healthier, but lighter. We are changing from unnatural fatty foods to natural fatty foods and are truly enjoying our food, not letting it enjoy us.

"But the government wouldn't let us eat anything bad, so why bother paying more for organic?" Yeah, the government's all over it, trust them, they'll take care of you... Yeah there was a little sarcasm in my response. I don't trust the government for my personal well being, but instead of getting into politics, let's get into facts. I've even read the pesticide companies say something to the effect of "there had not been any evidence in our product harming humans..." May I add a "yet" at the end? Seriously though, it's a poison, safe or not.

"But organic is so much more for the same product." Yes organic is more for a lot of items, but are they really the same product? Instead of a genetically modified, poison filled apple, I pay for a... well, an apple, the way God intended. Because organic foods aren't harvested on a massive scale from fields owned by the likes of Kraft or another conglomerate, and because they are more labor intensive (no pesticides or herbicides after all), the farmers who farm organic charge more to earn a living. Fair enough in my book, pay more for a healthier real food while supporting local "small" farmers.

I could go on forever. There is a lot of debate and not everyone will agree on this issue, but it's something that both Shawna and I have both taken seriously. We have never taken on an issue in our lives (other than what we live for, God) so seriously. This is something that we are finding a deep passion for and although still a little naive, continuing to learn about. This may be a honeymoon period for our new found way of eating and living, but something that I am confident will stay with us.

What does all this mean? Are we now food snobs that won't be able to eat out or at other people's homes? Definitely not! It's just a household change of the way we live. Sure we will eat healthy foods at home, but we will still go out from time to time and when we do go out, we will opt for healthier alternatives and avoid the fast food. And when we're over at other people's homes for dinner, we will graciously and gratefully eat any meal they provide for us (yes, even my mom's frozen pretzels and taquitos!). We will just do everything we can to limit our intake of unnatural foods. We can only hope to be 100% organic, but reality is that not everyone is, so we cannot be either, at least away from our home.

If you're family or friend, don't fret, we've not changed! We are still the same annoying family that you know and love. If you feel like we do, great, if you don't, don't bother to argue with us. This is my blog after all. ;) Start your own if you want to voice your opinion. Just teasing. Whether it's beneficial or not is a personal choice and we have drawn the line on where we now stand.

We love you all! Talk to you soon!