Would you like to come for dinner?

As I was saying in class yesterday, many of my friends get uncomfortable when having dinner at my house. If we're eating a meal that doesn't have beef or chicken usually there are no comments made. However, if we're enjoying a meal of hamburgers I often get nervous laughs followed by "So who are we eating tonight?" I had never really thought much about how people are disconnected from their food until I was older and my friends started making comments like these. And even more now that we have been talking about it in class.

After watching Food Fight it became even more clear about how disconnected people are from the food that they eat. In my friends case, they really do not like knowing they are eating animals that they once would go pet and play with in the barn. While on the other hand I take great comfort in this. Knowing exactly how my food is raised, in what type of environment and what it eats is a wonderful feeling. I then can know almost exactly what I am putting into my body. I think our society could greatly benefit from intake products like this and having a greater connection with their food.

I understand that this comes across as a hard concept! If you don't live on a farm how can you know how your meats are raised? Do we have the resources to do this without living on a farm? The answer to this is yes! There are many things we as individuals can do to be greater connected with the food we're putting into our bodies. When talking about having connections and knowing where our meat comes from. Livestock sales (I believe I mentioned this in class)!!! For those who do not live on farms but wish to have a personal connection and know where their foods coming from this is a great alternative! Livestock sales are not difficult to find and many times are show animals who are being sold. Show animals that have been greatly pampered and cared for! When purchasing meats from livestock sales information such as the feed given to the animal, the farm where the animal was raised and the farm the animal originally came from are all given to you! Many times you're also able to meet and converse with the farmer selling the animal.

In a way this is very similar to selling fruits and such at farmers markets! When buying produce at farmers markets you can have a genuine experience and connection with the food and where it came from. You can talk with the grower about how it was grown, what was put on it, when and where it was grown. You have the ability to obtain any information you wish from the grower. As well as just having a personable conversation!!

While the connections with our food are possible in these simple ways and could greatly increase the dining experience on an emotional level... It also has great genuine taste benefits as well! Personally, I can taste the difference between store bought meat and meat from our animals with one bite. This experience of taste is the same when it comes to buying goods from farmers markets. Sure these things might be a little more expensive but the quality and taste is naturally 10 times better than what you're buying from the store.

So in my opinion, we don't have to be disconnected from our food the way that our society is now. As individuals there are many ways we are have greater connections to our foods. It may take a little more work and a little more time. But I think that the work and time are worth the effort when it comes to knowing what you're putting in your body and the connection you can have with your food!