Participation

Have you noticed an increase in obesity in our nation? What about a decrease in physical activity?

The makers of HBO's "Weight of the Nation" sure have and did something about it.
The 4 part documentary is a commentary on our nation's health crisis: obesity. At times is tough to watch and other times its more upbeat with ideas to help change your lifestyle or fight for those who have no voice. Whether you find it alarming or inspiring- or both- there are ways to improve your health and the nation's health.

  

These are the 7 essentials to a healthy heart and cardiovascular system. Statistics show that only 1% of the entire U.S. population qualify for all 7 of these health indicators. 1%. That's it.






Did you know that soda companies make a 90% profit on sodas and other sugary drinks that provide you with 0% of your daily nutritional intake? They are guaranteed to make money while you are guaranteed to gain weight and increase your risk for chronic health issues. I don't know about you but I don't like those odds. 

Most of us are unaware of how much exercise it actually takes to burn off the calories of our daily food choices.

Popular all American food like burgers and cookies are everywhere in our society but the knowledge of what that food does to your body, and how to mitigate the effects, is lacking.
The truth is that fatty and/or sugary foods take more physical exercise to burn off than most people assume. 

Dismal statistics like the ones above pepper this movie making it really hard to watch without feeling inspired and fired up to change the system. Let that fire burn! Get mad! Take that anger for injustice and turn it into positive change.

Our current food system values profit more than health. The companies that produce foods high in fat and sugar while low in actual nutrient content have decided that lining their pockets is more important than the health of our nation's youth. Kids today may be the first generation to have a shorter life span than their parents, making them the first generation to die younger... from (here's the kicker)... preventable causes! All of the chronic illness and health issues young people are facing in today's America can be contributed in large to the huge increase of unhealthy food and poverty.

Significant proportions of overweight kids also live near or under the poverty line making the burden twice as heavy. Not only do they have to battle temptation on every block, their family can't afford to buy fruits and veggies. Parts of the documentary were focused on lower income neighborhoods where there are corner stores on just about every block but no parks and public greens spaces. Snack cakes wrapped in plastic and chips are 25 cents each while bananas and apples are over $1. The calorie count and price make the choice easy when you have 75 cents in your pocket. 75 cents goes a lot further and provides more calories in chips and cakes than an apple. Produce isn't affordable and it doesn't provide as many calories to satisfy an empty belly.

The odds are stacked against these kids and families from the very beginning.

Big problem right? Right. But there are ways you, yes you, can help. PARTICIPATE!

Participate in your own health, the health of your family, the health of your community, and the health of the nation at large. Start from the bottom, the most direct source of change, and come up with some personal goals. Cut back on your soda intake, eat a serving of veggies with every meal for a week, or gossip with a friend while out for a walk in the neighborhood. 

Buy your produce from a local farmer. 

Walk in one of the many fundraiser walks for a cause you support. 

Run your first 5k.

Turn a vacant lot into a park for neighborhood kids to play kickball and just be kids.

Once you see how these small changes in your life effect your well-being, bigger changes and broader influence are sure to follow. Change things up, ask your friends to join you, and move this country towards a healthier future!

To watch "Weight of the Nation" (for free) and find out how you can help, please visit the "Weight of the Nation" website.

Flour Stains

Life is a little messy.

So is baking bread.

Last weekend one of my roommates and I attended a bread baking workshop at The Food Project near Dudley Square in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston. The Roxbury, and Dudley Square especially, area of Boston is a rougher part of town. Houses are older, some falling apart, and trash is thrown on the sidewalk and in vacant lots. Amongst the aging houses and storefronts, there's a colorful building on the corner of Dudley St. and W. Cottage St.

The Food Project

The Food Project is a wonderful place where community members and folks from all over Boston can learn about farming (and even get their hands dirty!), take free cooking classes, and participate in educating youth on healthy eating! Its really a great place. The Food Project has a total of 43 acres in the Boston metro area dedicated to chemical pesticide free farming for education and CSAs. And who works the land? Staff, volunteers, and 140 teens who are part of a tight knit work crew.

Back to the bread!

We weren't sure what to expect and went in with few reservations. We arrived a bit early, talked with one of the interns, and met our fellow bread bakers as they trickled in. Everyone was very nice and we were in good company- many were there for the first time. In a complete surprise, Libby and I were some of the most experienced bread bakers in the group! We've only made bread maybe 10 a handful of times and it went... decently?

The lot of us crammed into the small commercial kitchen in the back and got to work. The staff had already picked out a few recipes: egg bread, French bread, and basic white bread.

As a community we made loaves of egg bread and French bread, and some other off the cuff recipes. Lots of laughs, lots of people doing something they've never done before- and being empowered!

It was wonderful to see. We were all strangers just 2 hours before and we were suddenly joking with each other and breaking bread together.

Curry bread! Our fearless leader made this dough before we got there and encouraged us to be creative!

I've found that cooking is a great way to interact with your neighbors, met new people, and learn or hone skills. I respect The Food Project's presence there on Dudley St. and in Boston at large. Its a wonderful resource. The staff and volunteers are doing their best to fight hunger and reach youth who might otherwise be spending their time doing less constructive things.

Find a similar organization in your city... and if there isn't one? Maybe you're just the person to start one.

We went home with bread, flour all over our shirts, and a sense of community. 

That's a lot to be thankful for.

Keep 'Em Buzzing

Most people jump when they hearing the buzzing of bees. What they unfortunately don't know is that bees are crucial to pollination and therefore food production. They are 1 of 2 ways plants pollinate. These little insects are actually quite docile and are just trying to find some pollen to bring back to the hive.

A new phenomenon has been making it harder for bees to collect pollen and bring it back to their hive. Its a random absence of bees and any sign that they were even around, except for the empty boxes that were once a hive. The shell of a hive is of particular concern as they aren't covered in dead bees or have any noticeable damage. The bees just left. No explanation, no trace.

While the whole picture is still fuzzy there is some research that suggests steps are being taken to fix the problem and try to revive lost colonies. Colony Collapse Disorder could stem from many different causes but some have been shown to have direct effects on the bees. GMOs and systemic pesticides are the leading causes of CCD currently (article from the Boston Globe). These conventional farming practices seem to trigger a response in the nervous system of the bees causing the bees to lose their ability to gather pollen and return home. Each bee has a built in GPS but chemicals from farm practices confuse the GPS function of her brain, sending her flying off into the ether. If enough bees have this problem the whole colony will vacate- sometimes leaving the queen to attempt at repopulating the hive with the young that are left behind. However without her worker bees the queen and young won't have pollen for food and honey production. I think you can guess the end of this story.

Luckily some farmers and beekeepers have decided that CCD is costing agriculture and the planet too much. A group of farmers nation wide have taken a cue from France, a leader in CCD research and solutions, by starting organic and holistic beekeeping. Organic beekeeping sounds a bit lofty and like something you'd find in old Switzerland but its everywhere! There are organic beekeepers in rural Virginia, Florida, and many European beekeepers have been organic for years. I had the pleasure of working for farmers who loved bees and their incredible gift of pollination, so they decided to start a hive just a few yards from the farm.

(Pictures from Broadfork Farm blog)

These ladies will happily feast on some pollen produced from organic plants grown without GMO seeds or harmful farming practices. Hopefully happy, healthy bees at one farm can encourage others to do the same. Bees are relatively easy to take care of and provide us with so much- the food we eat.

The Simple Life

My roommates and I have spent the past 4 months reading, researching, and discussing an idea- living simply. For us this means having an apartment full of donated furniture, kitchen wares, and linens. We also make very intentional decisions about where we buy our food and which companies/farms/businesses we want to support through our spending.

Our most recent reading, Freedom of Simplicity by Richard Foster, introduces the idea of simplicity through the lens of faith. From a faith perspective, simplicity is appealing and satisfying. God becomes the center and the self (for the sake of self) fades.

Now these sorts of self-help or lifestyle changes can be difficult. People have strengths and weakness, likes and dislikes. We have the self we present to the world in a business setting which is different than the self we present to our best friend, and those other selves can sometimes be different than our selves we discover in time spent alone. Foster discusses the goal of bringing these parts into one being-- that is focused on God. That's the kicker. A whole person; focused on God, not on "me." That's hard, really hard.

The way I've been approaching becoming a whole self while being focused on God is by simple living choices. Like I mentioned, our house has decided that a life of intention is how we want to pursue focusing on God. Our choices about what eggs to buy and whether to go with organic or fair trade sugar, if we can't find a organic and fair trade source, may seem trivial but there are a lot of threads to a simple choice in sugar. When you become aware of how workers are treated, how sustainable the farming practices are, who receives the profit and so forth, the threads start to unravel. The decision suddenly becomes much larger and starts to feel overwhelming.

To remain focused in a problem much larger than myself I think of how my spending contributes to the world and specifically God's kingdom. Does my money go to overhead costs or does the money keep workers employed in fair wages jobs? Are the farms taking care of Creation or exploiting it?
We keep our decisions intentionally focused on God and his kingdom, therefore making the choices easy. When God is the focus, the self or selves lessen, and a whole person follows.