“I believe that it is better to tell the truth than a lie. I believe it is better to be free than to be a slave. And I believe it is better to know than to be ignorant.” - H.L. Mencken
What are you eating? Is your diet an invitation to cancer?
Add to your diet the many things you put on your body. Your skin absorbs everything that it comes in contact with- so yes, the toxic stuff in your suntan lotion, your hair products,... your laundry soap left on your sheets, your toothpaste, face wash, makeup. Now the stuff you breath- all manner of free floating toxins, emissions, fumes. The flourides and other chemicals in the water. Add it all up, and most Americans are blinking neon signs for cancer. Add to this mix the proliferation of GMOs, the food dye in most foods, the incredibly non-food like food product ingredients in most processed foods (anti-freeze, for example)- no wonder our chronic disease rate in the US is so high. Why would they ever want to offer up free health care when its such a booming business? Americans are gluttonous. We have taken consumption to a whole new level. I am not suggesting anyone feel shame, but some contrition in the form of self discipline is called for. THIS IS THE REAL REVOLUTION. The real revolution is when real, normal people wake up enough to stop doing behaviors that hurt themselves and the world, one by one, little by little. Awakened people understand they are responsible for the outcome. And if you are a parent- this should really strike home. Zombies are a great metaphor for the consuming masses, driven by pure want and appetite, consuming without regard for the consequences. There is only one way to not be one. Wake up. Realize your consumer choices have an impact on the world, your family, your body. Do something different. Start now.
Consume what you must, then boogie? Only if you're a zombie.
One of the greatest things about having a voice and presence as an activist in the virtual world is the people that find you, rally around you, and support you and your message. Just these past two weeks, I have had some great responses to things I've posted. Halloween night, I posted this-
Angela Davis- liberate minds as well as society
A few moments after posting that, I received this in my inbox, from a wonderful woman named Karen Sue Gaddy. I asked her if I could mention her name and post her message.
Just saw your post w Angela Davis I was not much more than 20. They were goin up the jersey tp minding their own business. State police stopped their car. Think they had Lewis or Newton in the car. Angela went to prison pg. I sat in my upstairs window and wept as men with guns walked the fields and woods around my house. They came on the radio and told us to stay inside and lock our doors. There had been a shoot out on the jersey tpk around mile market 8 or 8A between Black Panthers and popo.
I had already seen what the establishment was doing to stop the uprising. Those of us who craved change read the "underground" newspaper and just knew that most of what the establishment was printing was lies. If you gotta stuff a gag in a man's mouth in court, you must be afeared of losing control. (In them days, the popo would stop any hippie or weirdo in a desolate part of the Garden State in the A.M.,rip your ride apart, seats and all, throw it out on the side of the highway and leave you there at the mercy of the night to put your shit back together.)
So, I did not lock my doors. I opened all my windows and doors and prayed they would make it to my house and I could have helped them in some way. I just played "Four Way Street" full blast on the outdoor speakers, blasted it across the fields and woods and awaited the inevitable. They did not make it to my house.
Carry on. Stay kind. Always there is a movement.
"Those of us who crave change." If you are reading this, then there is a good chance you are one of those people. Change must happen, and the change requires that we each look at our lives and do things differently. I love this quote by David Suzuki- it says so much-
David Suzuki- Re-examine our lifestyles is right!
This revolution has elements that none other has had before. The enemy is not only without. There is a complacency that has infiltrated our minds, or homes, and our lives, that is the biggest obstacle in this movement. If we could overcome that obstacle EN MASSE- it would be a powerful, even unstoppable force. There are more of us than of them. And by them, I mean the shareholders and those who make money on the bones of our children's children. Those who profit from our illnesses. Those who package food "products" to make them tempting, add chemical flavorings to induce cravings, all the while knowing that these diets create obesity, diabetes, cancer, high blood pressure, all sorts of maladies for which they also provide a plethora of pharmaceuticals- BIG PHARMA. And BIG AGRA, they are all for the GMOs, tout them as being the solution to world hunger, meanwhile American grocery stores are 80% full of GMO tainted products, and people are still starving in the world. This isn't new information, but how many of you have changed your eating lifestyle radically in lieu of this information? How many people, when presented with images of the plastic garbage vortex in the Pacific Ocean- larger than the state of Texas- stop using single use plastic items entirely, things like water bottles, cups from coffee shops, plastic bags at grocery stores, lighters? I know that when you read about this stuff, it bothers you. But for most, it doesn't bother them enough, and that's the biggest enemy we face. The apathy, the complacency. that is why this revolution IS primarily an internal one. At least, it begins there, and then it manifests in your life.
Once you start to do things differently, you want to talk about it. You want to have a community around you of like minded people. You tolerate ignorance less. You prefer to learn to be sustainable, to rely less and less on this very flawed system full of sleeping sheep people. You might learn to grow food, or shop at the farmer's markets. You might march at rallies, write blogs, create groups in your community, work with non-profits, learn about beekeeping, help plant urban farms, grow your own food, build a solar panel, create a non profit, write a cookbook of the new recipes you are learning to create in place of processed foods. You might feel healthier, sexier, people might say, "Wow, you look great, are you in love?" You might be less stressed, moody, prone to anxiety. You might be more present in all your relationships. You might be EXCITED- for no reason and for every reason. You might feel like part of a movement. You might sense the presence of greater alternatives opening up for the future of humanity. You might feel like one of the good guys. You might love yourself for it. This is the revolution. The enemy is apathy. Learn to recognize your enemy in your life, and maneuver around it, or kill it dead, but don't let it stop you. OCCUPY YOURSELF!
I loved what Karen Sue Gaddy sent so much. I love how she felt impelled to write to me, a total stranger, and give me a glimpse into a moment and time in her life and her own revolutionary heart. Above all, I love how she signed off. Carry on. Stay kind. Always there is a movement. Thank you, Karen!!
It was, without question, a tragedy. That we were able to also witness, in all that devastation, incredible acts of valor and selflessness was an ode to the human spirit. And in our memories of that day, one thing is also true- we were united. The entire country was focused on one thing. It might have been the first time I actually *felt* like an American. I think I didn't even realize it at the time, but in retrospect, I felt a kinship with my country, with all Americans. I knew we were all experiencing shock and horror and sadness and helplessness and loss and anger- all of us together.
9/11/2001
I wish it didn't take an event like that to bring people together en masse. There is so much that tears us apart as a people, so much that divides us- and personally, I think it suits the powers that be just fine that this is true. If we were really United, we would be a real force to be reckoned with. But as it stands, we are divided such things as republican or democrat, liberalism versus conservatism. When the towers were hit, those things didn't matter. Why? Because in the final analysis, they don't really matter. We can, and do, all have our own opinions. We can opine all day long about who in government is making what decision and how its their fault and the other party wouldn't have. It doesn't matter. Because there is a plane headed towards another tower, metaphorically speaking. There is a lot happening in the world, and I can't speak to all of it. There is a lot each one of us can do, and I can't speak to all those many things. But in the daily life we are living, there are things we can do, should do, must do, to alter the course of things for the future, for the planet, for the children of our children's children.
be afraid. be very afraid.
In a nutshell, there has been a lot of research into the way the food industry has been controlled. Quite literally, we have been told certain foods are good for us that are not. Things that cause heart disease, and cancer. There are posters and ads encouraging us to eat them, endorsed by the Dairy Association, for example. The most famous recent one- Got milk? I'm sure you know if it. Then there are the foods that are a result of our need for convenience. Fast food, snack foods, processed food products in colorful boxes and bags. A person needs to eat two or three times more of this stuff to feel satisfied. We get addicted to the flavorings, the salt, the chemicals they use to enhance the artificial flavors. Little kids now have diseases that only old people who ate crap their whole lives got- hypertension, heart disease, obesity, diabetes. Its all due to diet. And they WANT you and your children to be sick. Diabetes medication makes Big Pharma a fortune, not to mention heart disease medication...not to mention all the medication for all the side affects of extreme obesity...not to mention a lot of other things- too much to list. THEY ARE MAKING BILLIONS OF DOLLARS OFF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE and their compromised health. Doesn't it shock you to think people are working hard to pay for food that makes them sick so they can work hard to spend more money on medicine and doctors and insurance? Because, in effect, Americans are like rats in a maze. We are doing exactly what they want us to do, and we go about our business blissfully unaware. We think its all okay. We think we are making these choices willingly. In a sense, we are, but we don't know we are being slowly poisoned. They don't want to kill us- you can't make money off a corpse. We are like the pods of people in the Matrix- dreaming our lives away while they take everything from you. They allow you to have just enough stuff so you don't even notice. Annnnnnd- I didn't even get to GMOs. Don't get me started. Its just another layer of awfulness that can't be ignored.
Don't be 'most people'. Occupy yourself
If this makes you mad, good. Get mad. You are getting FUCKED. You, and your kids, your friends and their kids, your brothers and sisters and neighbors. The American people, who all came together on that fateful day 12 years ago, are all getting the shaft. And one of the hardest things to do is to get them to recognize it. Its crazy, really, but people do not want to know the truth. Ignorance is not bliss, but there is responsibility in knowing the truth- you can not un-ring the bell. You can not act like you don't know. On September 11, 2001, we watched as people died. The truth of the tragedy of it was awake in all of us. Its so rare, and in moments like that, you realize the power of the people. We could all change things. We could.
We are society. Its us, all of us, that need to change. THEY won't. WE must.
The first thing? Stop buying their crap. That's easier said than done. I don't want to take up a lot of word space talking about how to do it- watch FORKS OVER KNIVES. That's a start. Watch FOOD FIGHT. You will want to understand why you must change the way you buy, and what you consume. The short answer is- if we buy locally grown as much as possible, if we boycott fast food, do our best to eat a plant based diet (I don't, but I'm trying, and this entire blog chronicles my endeavors), learn new foods to eat that are not processed, foods that actually expire in a week or two, and of those, things which are GMO free.
The revolutionary is you, doing something different. Caring. Changing. Pissed!
It sounds like a lot of work, but its more work to have to get a triple bypass by the age of 55. Its more work for our kids who inherit a planet with no bees, with the food supply controlled by the corporations (farming will become illegal, its inevitable), and with only genetically modified foods available whatsoever. No one has to shift everything overnight- but to start to become aware first- I promise the rest will fall into place. A changed perception can not help but call upon a change of behavior.
This is the trailer from FORKS OVER KNIVES-
The future requires us all to be radical in our own lives, to overthrow the status quo of our own selves and question everything we think we believe in. Some of it isn't ours, and we find we don't want it. We've been branded to since we were born, and our taste buds control us. They know it. Question these things. When you think of giving up processed foods- which ones do you think you can't give up? Really start to ask yourself why. You might even discover you don't actually like the thing. Once you start to eat real food, your body may tell you that you never did like it, only your taste buds, and they are easy to manipulate with artificial flavors.
Below is a video I show a lot, it never fails to shock that the seemingly innocent McDonalds Chicken McNuggets are actually a composite of all the parts of a chicken ground up (eyeballs, feathers, guts, feet, beaks) then soaked in ammonia...well, the rest of it is here to see. This is a processed food. It is so far away from what it was when it started that its barely a food anymore. Try telling that to Honey BooBoo.
This is the start of it. Food is so personal. It freaks most people out to even think about changing. There are a million excuses- I am sure you can hear them in your head right now. Look at it. Rebel against it. This is a real revolution. You are waking up. What is happening in the world is happening to all of us, no matter how divided we allow ourselves to be. No matter if you are a liberal, or a conservative- its all happening to you, and to your children, and to your children's children. Time to stop the madness. Watch this video. This is US. Not just Americans, all of us. A world of people. Our world.
On October 12th, there will be Marches Against Monsanto happening in cities all over the world. Click HERE to find out where a march and rally are happening near you.
Occupy yourself! You can do it. I believe in you, whoever you are.
Tonight I committed my first act of guerilla gardening. I waited until it was dark, as I don't know what anyone would say if they caught you planting vegetables in their garden. I chose a space in front of an apartment building near my house- I noticed that they water it every night and it gets lots of sunlight.
I had about 14 plants- cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes- just a little bigger than seedlings. A friend of mine had too many left over from his garden tower project for the homeless, so I had more than I needed for my garden tower project. Perfect for my first plant bombing.
I love the idea of people everywhere using public spaces to create edible gardens- why not? There is plenty of useable soil that is getting watered. And, while I love flowers and anything green, why not plant something green that also makes food?
I must have heard the term guerilla gardening somewhere, but I am not sure. To be honest, I just googled it for the first time just this minute, and found that its actually a thing. I love it!
Its hard to tell from these photos, but here is the before picture- you can see my little tray of vegetable bearing plants on the right-
And here is the after photo. Again, its hard to really tell yet, they are so small its not a dramatic difference.
It was also really fun to do. I sort of don't do things that aren't fun if I can help it- but I do if I have to. However, this was indeed fun, and I would highly recommend that you get a gang of people together and go night planting in your neighborhood. Some really hardy plants to start right now are pumpkin plants. Tomatoes are high yield and aren't too finicky. There is a bank by my house with strawberries planted all along in front of it- of course I now love this bank and am thinking of changing over to them.
A lot of guerilla gardeners I am discovering, now that I am looking it up, will use flowering plants to beautify neglected areas, which is awesome, too. Any improvements with nature in areas that neglect to honor it is radical. I still maintain, for my purposes, that I prefer to plant edible plants like lettuces or herbs, or that produce vegetables or fruit.
Try it! Then post about it. Take pictures and upload to facebook- spread the word about the guerilla gardening movement and lets see what happens. This revolution is a gentle one, and calls for a return to simple ways and unplugging as much as we can from the system. We can not unplug completely, but we can all find ways to cut back and get down to brass tacks that work with our lives.
Yeah, thought for food. Just like food for thought, but in reverse. This whole lifestyle change is starting to become automatic for me. Yay!! Today I spent the day snacking, which usually leaves me feeling weird and kind of disconnected from body, over stimulated, and just plain ol' weird. However- (and this is a big deal)- I didn't know it. I had no idea until I did things differently. Its okay to snack- but its what you snack on that makes all the difference. Lets call this the Snack Revolution! 'Cause every little tiny bit helps the cause. And every little thing we do that is not a solution only adds to the problem.
Yeah this. In reverse.
So.... giving some thought to my food is teaching me to take responsibility for my world, on way many more levels that simply what I eat. On a day after eating crap, feeling out of touch with reality and cranky, can leave me making a snap decision from a bad place and alter the course of my life. Seriously- no one should be making big decisions after a day of eating oreos and drinking cokes. or grabbing fast food for lunch after a coffee breakfast.
Like Ebenezer Scrooge said to the first ghost, Jacob Marley, who visited him in A Christmas Carol- he said to the ghost, " You may be an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, ... " Even Dickens knew that food has its affects on the mind. Food affects everything central to our own well being, be it mental, emotional, physical. We are so disconnected from our own selves that it really doesn't bother us, to read something like this. We can read it and somehow feel like it simply doesn't apply to us. I did it a million times.
I know. I totally know. I never cared- when it came to my health- well, I always felt healthy. I have always been able to eat what I want and just be fine, I never saw any repercussions. But I do feel different now, when previously I thought that I couldn't possibly feel better than I did already. Bah, Humbug. Like Scrooge, who doesn't want to look at his past, his present, his future, the way he impacted those in his life, or the way his impact on them impacted those in their life with a profound rippling effect. No one wants to- you, reading this right now, don't want to. Or you may look at one thing but avoid looking at the *big* thing. I do that all the time!!!! I have quit drinking and doing any mind altering substances, got out of a bad marriage, I have sought to improve my life in many, many ways- but food was really going to be my last stand- I was determined not to change a thing. Food is just so....personal.
So...today. I haven't had a proper meal, I snacked all day. But I snacked on Mary's Gone Crackers, which are crackers full of chia seeds and flax seeds and quinoa- sooooo yummy. No GMOs, no gluten, all organic- the exact thing that I would have rolled my eyes at 2 months ago. I dip them in some amazing stuff called Nary Dairy- which is this sort of fake cheese dip with the texture of hummus, made out of cashew butter. I get it at my local farmer's market. Its delish. And I ate a banana, and some organic milk chocolate from trader Joe's.
Nary Dairy is sooo yummy! I like Chia Cheddar best.
Why the hell am I talking to you about what I snacked on today? Because it was the kind of day we all have, where there is no time to actually eat, and that is when we throw all our thoughts for food out the window and grab what we can. The bad guys at McHappylife, Inc., love it when we are like this. That is when we stop at a fast food place- in a hurry, blood sugar dropping, stressed out. Its when we are weak. Fuck that noise.
I prepared myself. I left the house today with my little snacky snacks. I am not giving a dime to those skeezy corporate sh*theads, and its my goal never to do so again. No more fast food or the easy bag of chips full of GMOs, just to 'tide me over'. Its seems like such a tiny thing to do- but if we all did it, we could put those fast food guys out of business. We could- I know its almost an impossibility, but think about it. If we could unite the people of the US, if we could get them all to stop eating all fast food, we could shut them down. If we didn't buy any products containing GMOs, Monsanto's stock would continue to drop. We have the power to make change. its not like we need to strap a bomb to our chest and walk in a McDonalds. In a capitalist society, the power is actually in the hands of the consumers. If we don't like something, if we see the red flags, we need to talk to our friends, or families, or neighbors, at parties- and talk about what is going on, plant the seed for a different approach. We can stop them by not buying their crap. If their crap is not bought, then they will die.
The American Dream realized.
I know there will never be a way to get everyone on the same page. But if we tried to, we'd at least get a lot of them thinking different. We all have facebook. We all have email. If nothing else- share this blog! Let it speak to as many people as possible.
Okay, so then what. How do we change? Read about GMOs. Get the Buycott app so you don't purchase things with GMOs in them. Talk about it. read this blog. Change some small thing in your life this week, and then maybe next week, see what new thing of value and sustainability you can add to your life while removing something that supports the decline of civilization. I am taking baby steps in the right direction, and if I can do it, you can, too! Trust me, I am one of the worst case scenarios and die hard white trash food eater. We can do this thing. OCCUPY YOURSELF!!!
