We had Trinity at the doctor's last week for the follow up to some of her tests as we continue to try to figure out her mystery stomach ailment. After reviewing the results the doctor shared with us that there was evidence that her body was fighting a food born contamination, most likely from produce from a foreign country that has questionable practices and guidelines. He shared with us that he has been seeing an increase in this sort of thing lately and went on to describe some of the farming practices in countries that are exporting goods to Canada, including using human waste as fertilizer. It was more of an extended rant than an informational update as he is really frustrated by what he is seeing and is outraged by the lack of attention that is being garnered by the problem. So, after T.J's illness, and upon doctor's recommendation we are trying to be much more discerning about our produce, how it is grown, and most importantly, where it comes from. It is a strange day when you discover that some of your food may have been grown in human waste. It is stranger still when that is not the most frustrating part of your shopping experience.
As we were shopping we were looking for more organic produce to purchase, but even more importantly to us, we were looking for produce from Canada or other countries that we know have similar, stringent health regulations. You think that this would be an easy thing to do, just look at the sign or the packaging and make your choice by what you see. But here is the catch, you have to look closely... very closely to actually see what you are getting and from where. The terms "PRODUCT OF," and "PACKAGED IN" are all over packaging in the grocery store. Apparently, however, they mean different things than "GROWN IN," seeing as if you flip the packaging over and look for fine print you may find that the produce is grown in another country altogether. How frustrating is that! And it makes me think, why are they hesitant to let me know where this stuff is grown?
Is it too much to ask that we just start being honest and transparent about things? No wonder Jesus had to give the teaching to "let your 'yes be yes' and your 'no be no'." (Matthew 5:37) There is a serious lack of integrity in our words and it leads to a serious lack of credibility and trustworthiness.
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Agree! I once bought pineapple and the package said "product of Canada". Didn't know we were so tropical here!
ReplyDeleteOne of the most frustrating things we found is that often your local chain grocery store is not permitted by law to actually carry local food. This is because most national chains are required to have food inspected by national inspectors. But, a lot of Ontario farms are inspected *provincially* and simply can't afford the added expense of paying for another inspection. So even though it's local, government-approved (for health/safety) food, it can't be sold in the most common places people go grocery shopping.
ReplyDeleteThere was a big fuss a couple of years ago when a couple of Sobeys (I think) actually broke ties with their franchise to go independent precisely so they could sell local provincially-inspected produce. It would be interesting to talk to someone in the produce department where you shop and see what they have to say about the matter. I've never done it, but I hear that people often talk to their meat or produce department and the staff are often more than happy to discuss these things.