An Eye Opening Experience

When I was nine years old, I joined my school 4-H club. I had lived on a farm for most of my life, and that’s what most farm kids did. I was mildly involved, and interested, in agriculture, although most of my interests were invested in cooking rather than producing the raw product (probably to the dismay of my father and his cattle). In high school, I did as most 4-Hers do, and I joined FFA. I wanted public speaking and leadership opportunities, and getting an education in American agriculture didn’t seem like a bad idea either. You’d think after all that time in two national organizations that I would be well informed about the origins of my food. You’d be wrong.

As a youth I’d be been fed the same idealistic visions that most Americans fed: cattle graze out in a pasture, chicken have a pretty little coop and lay a few eggs, farmers plant their crops on their own land and tend to them by hand, and all of our foodstuffs such as fruits and vegetables go directly from the fields to the supermarkets. I am learning though that such visions are not the case. Just to clarify though, I'm not slamming 4-H and FFA; they'll always be near and dear to my heart. But I do think today's youth have the potential to revolutionize American agriculture.

I’ve had it on my mind, and heart, lately that I need to try to provide healthier food for my family. This notion was brought on by Josey’s move to soy formula. I wanted to know if it was really healthy. After all, it is recommended by pediatricians, so it should be good, right? No. Absolutely not. After pouring over research papers, e-books, documentaries, and assorted “tell-all blogs,” I’ve discovered that 90% of all soybeans in America are produced by the Monsanto corporation. These soybeans have been genetically modified so they actually contain the pesticide Round Up. And these soybeans are used in infant formula. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to give my baby a bottle full of pesticide.

Then I started digging into information about corn syrup. We’ve all seen the commercials that promote it as being nutritionally identical sugar along with the slogan “fine in moderation.” But how many of us actually consume it in moderation? Look at any packaged food and most likely it will contain corn syrup. So what’s the problem with it? There are two main problems: 1) It is produced from genetically modified organisms (GMOs), so it is not the corn God gave us. It has been bred to have a lot of starch and a little protein so it will grow bigger faster and more of it can be planted. 2) Since corn syrup is already pre-digested by the scary chemicals added to it to turn it into syrup, the liver does not need to spend energy on it breaking it down as it does sugar, so it is directly stored as fat.

So how does all this relate to being a mommy (after all, that is the point of this blog)? The point is that I’ve switched Josey’s formula to Baby’s Only Organic Soy Formula, an organic, brown rice syrup and soy formula. It contains no corn syrup and no GMOs. And the results? Amazing. I used to think Josey was just naturally a little fussy and needy. But as soon as I changed her formula, I saw drastic improvement. She stays contented, she has more energy, and she spits up far less. And since she’s started solids, I only feed her organic cereal and organic fruits and vegetables (more on this later). I feel like my little girl has come alive, and it further cements the idea that organic is better.