transitioning to WAPF eating

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This is from the chapter leaders list with permission from the author

to share here.

Question:

Ms. Fallon in her talks doesn't seem to argue that organically

raised animals are all that high priority--mostly that they are raised

on pasture. She mentions that we live in a toxic world and the fats

and vitamins in the fats (where the toxins are stored) are what help

us deal with those toxins. I have a lot of people interested in eating

more healthily, but often can't find/afford organic, grassfed

products. In particular, pork is very hard to find around here. Where

should I tell them to start? Is it enough to start eating nitrate free

grocery store bacon along with plenty of CLO, or should they drive 3

hours one way to get their pastured pork? I just want to put this info

into peoples hands so they can do something with it.... Any tips?

Response:

This is a big one. WAPF doesn't want to be viewed as a small clique of

extremists.

We're here to help people improve their diets however they can, at

whatever pace

they can.

There are plenty of extremist groups out their who turn people off.

People may

throw up

their hands and think they can't achieve the " WAPF ideal " if we're

not careful

about how we

explain things, sadly.

The problem with " organics, " as with most terms, is the wide

variation in what

the term

means. Having the USDA take ownership of the word has made things

worse, in

some

people's views. For example, there are plenty of chickens raised

" organically, "

but they are

raised inside buildings, without sunlight, not eating insects and

other things

that grow in

the pasture.

The sunlight and access to a diet in the natural environment make all

the

difference to the

animals we commonly eat in the Western world. The sunlight develops

the vitamin

D in

the skin and fat of pigs, for example. Chickens outside get to eat

squirmy

things that live

in the ground, as well as a variety of little plants that give them a

different

nutritional

composition than eating only chicken feed made mostly of corn.

Someone else can address the toxins in fats issue. My impression is

that too

big of a deal

is made of the toxin buildup in fats relative to the nutritional

value. We're

talking about

animals who commonly haven't lived very long before they are

slaughtered, for

one thing,

maybe months, or a year or two max. That's different when thinking

about how

many

toxins we must have stored up

People have to do what they can. Here's how I imagine some ways to

transition:

Level 1: stop eating prepackaged food. Whatever " real foods " you can

get your

hands on,

use those whenever possible. Packaged foods are full of weird

ingredients, most

of which

are taxing on your liver. Eat real meat, the fat of the meat, and any

bones you

can get

your hands on. When you get a hold of any bones, store them in the

freezer

until you get

enough to make stock. Stop eating anything with soy or corn syrup (if

you

aren't eating

packaged foods, that will eliminate most of this). Make your own

bread if you

want bread,

from non-brominated flour. Eat eggs, not egg substitutes. Don't worry

about

pesticides

and animal feed at this point. If you must choose meats, I would

choose beef

and lamb

over chicken (all chicken, even organic, has their guts pulverized

and spattered

all over

the cavity at USDA processing plants; the fecal matter soaks into the

meat) and

pork (pigs

are treated incredibly cruelly because they can be, and because it's

harder to

manage them

outside). Beef starts its life as calves who must be outside for part

of their

short lives.

Lamb and mutton are grass fed and outside, though I know it tends to

be more

expensive.

Buffalo sometimes is not a whole lot better than beef unless you know

your

source,

because they've been feeding some grain to buffalo. If you choose

fish, choose

the lowest

on the food chain, and of course, stay away from farmed fish. Buy

butter, not

margarine. I

would stay away from olive oil at this point, because many of the

cheap olive

oils aren't

totally olive oil. Buy real cheese, not processed cheese. Buy full-

fat dairy

products. Go

hunting or find a hunter and obtain a duck, deer, elk, etc. when you

can.

Level 2: Clean meat and eggs are more important than clean produce,

if push

comes to

shove. When you decide to worry about the produce, stay away from the

more

toxic

produce, like celery (which will suck up anything in the soil),

bagged lettuce

(which is all

washed in chlorine bleach from what I understand), conventional

potatoes. Clean

dairy

products can mean organic, but at least not cheese made softer with

aluminum

compounds, from cows not raised with hormones and such. Stay with

full-fat

yogurt,

cheese, etc. Those tiny watered-down corn-syrup yogurts are not worth

buying.

Make

your own fermented foods - sauerkraut is much cheaper when you start

with your

own

cabbage, and if something icky grows on the top, you might be able to

salvage

the rest.

Buy up a lot of something when it is in season or otherwise cheap.

Opt for the

cheapest

cuts of cleaner meat if you have to. Soak produce in hydrogen

peroxide or

vinegar

solutions in water.

If you want to choose cleaner meat but find you can afford less than

conventional meat,

supplement with other protein sources, more eggs, etc. Get organ

meats when you

can.

What gets me is that one of the big expenses people have is how they

buy food.

Prepackaged food is often more expensive. Little bottles of salad

dressing? I

don't buy

them. Junk foods in small packages? What a waste of money. Small

amounts of

packaged

herbs from the store? Grow them in pots.

I wouldn't overwhelm people with the exotic stuff like CLO or coconut

oil until

they are

eating at home, eating real whole foods not packaged ones, first. The

rest is

going to be

about personal choices. When something tastes good enough to me, I'll

probably

drive 3

hours to get it Hopefully I'll get someone else's during the trip,

and we'll

trade off trips.