Discussion questions 5 & 6

Question 5- I always shy away from discussing my eating habits because I usually find that people see them as pretentious. I grew up in a household where food was our god and we were it's most adoring worshipers. My mother had a nutrition degree and owned her own delicatessen. We rarely never ate out and processed foods were banned. So yes, every food choice I make is a conscious one. I try to cook about 90% of my own meals, I don't eat processed foods, and I choose many items based on their environmental impact. I don't eat meat or dairy for that reason. If I raised my own animals and slaughtered them I would have no problem consuming it but the idea that these animals are being fed corn products, antibiotics and in some cases bi-products from their own species I can't justify eating it. In the last two days the meal I presume had the highest environmental impact was probably the lunch I purchased from an Ethiopian food truck. It was a vegan meal, beats carrots and green beans however I have no idea where any of the food came from and it was served in a cardboard container with a plastic spoon and paper napkin. Green beans are also not in season anymore and may have come from a can or been shipped to the East coast. But because I have no idea where that meal came from I presume it had a high environmental footprint.

Question 6- As I addressed in the previous response I was never allowed to eat processed foods and still shy away from them. I read every label of every food I buy and attempt to avoid corn products. That being said it is still hidden in so much of our food that it is near impossible to completely cut out. I found myself baking vegan corn muffins and thinking "well shit, so much for avoiding corn." Then someone mentioned that corn is in our toothpaste, so it's not only in our food but in many of our cosmetics, our packaging. I cook but even basic ingredients that you assume to be free of corn, such as flour or baking powder, still contain the grain. We've found a use for this product which is lacking severely in nutritional value. Even plain corn straight from the cob is one of the worst vegetables you can consume. It is high in starch and low in amino acids. But we have it in our heads that if it comes from the ground it must be good for us. Straight from the ground it's not great but processed into all these different chemicals and it has to be near toxic. But screw it's nutritional value, it's efficient and cheap, which seem to be the two values Americans care most about.