Healthy Tipping Point by Caitlin Boyle

Author:Caitlin Boyle [Boyle, Caitlin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781101586648
Publisher: Penguin Group US
Published: 2012-04-30T16:00:00+00:00

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Healthy Tipping Point Success Story: Jenna, 26, Illinois

My diet was very typical for an American. The nutrition label was king, and I wouldn’t buy anything without checking the amount of saturated fat and the amount of protein. (I wanted lots of protein and the least amount of saturated fat possible.) I never, ever checked the list of ingredients because I thought the important information was found in the numbers: grams, calories, percentages.

About five years ago, my dad, a full-time farmer, switched from growing conventional onions to organic farming exclusively, and my interest in where my food came from grew. I found that I wasn’t concerned only with the food’s numbers or how it tasted, I wanted to know how it was grown, and who was doing the growing, and I wanted it as fresh as possible. I felt overwhelmed at first, but the first step was going to the farmers’ market. At first, I didn’t ask any questions of the growers, but then I learned it’s okay to question. Now, when I approach the stand I ask, “Is this conventional or organic?” and “You didn’t spray fertilizer, but did you use fertilizer?” I visited one organic farmer often enough that he started giving me a returning customer discount!

I used to treat vegetables as an icky side dish to force down before I got to the good stuff, but each time I visited the market, I was so excited about the offerings that I came home with overflowing bags of tomatoes, peppers, summer squash, and berries that needed to be used up. Vegetables went from the side of my plate to being the star of the show!

Though it was difficult to get up for the market each Saturday, I found myself looking forward to my early-morning Saturday shopping ritual. When winter came, and the markets closed, I felt a bit lost. By using sites like Local Harvest (www.localharvest.org), I was able to find a community-supported agriculture group that continued through the winter. I paid ahead of time, and a box was dropped off on the back porch of a local church every two weeks. This supplied my family with apples, potatoes, onions, squash, and other fresh, local produce through the winter months. Eventually, we hope to live in a place where we can have a garden. Fruits and vegetables have become something to look forward to, and I admit there are days when I just can’t get enough.

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