I met up with a friend yesterday.
She's got a baby in her belly, second trimester. We started discussing all the things she can't eat. We discussed the mercury levels in fish, nitrates in processed lunch meat, we discussed the potential dangerous contaminants in over the counter prenatal vitamins. And on and on...
It's OVERWHELMING when you really stop to think about all the things in our world that are damaging to our health. The parabens in the lotion we place on our skin, the chemicals in our household cleaners, the flame retardant in your mattress, the PERC in your dry cleaned clothes, the hormones in your milk, the antibiotics in your chicken, the mercury in your tuna, the iron in your multi vitamin, the lead in your calcium supplement, the pollution in your air, the chlorine in your water, the plastic in bottle you're drinking out of.... and the list goes on.
As consumers we've supported all this industry to the point that it's more expensive to purchase SAFE products or to time consuming to find alternatives.
So people get OVERWHELMED and just say 'Screw it!' And continue polluting their bodies and the bodies of the people they love. It's seems useless to try. The problem is everywhere.
There's one VERY important thing to keep in mind, however, EVERY LITTLE BIT COUNTS! You don't have to go 100% green over night. That's too stressful. You have enough going on in your life to add that to it too.
Pick ONE thing to change. One battle to win. And SLOWLY start making it part of your life. You may not be able to do it ALL the time at first, and that's OK! Give yourself permission to not be perfect but know, and know it with all that you are, that every tiny thing you do really DOES make a difference.
So make that small change (ooh I said the word CHANGE):
Start recycling your plastic, or
Start buying organic chicken, or
Make your own household cleaner, or
WHATEVER!
Chose the one thing that's easiest for YOU and start implementing it into your life, slowly but surely. It DOES help! It DOES make a difference! It WILL impact your health, the health of those you love and the health of this planet.
So, what is it that you will start doing?
Great post! I think I'm going to make the switch to all natural/organic chicken because I eat so much of it, I think it would make a big difference. I also need to eat more fish (but not the big boys because I know all about bio-accumulation/bio-magnification already). I'm looking forward to following your blog. :)
ReplyDeleteI would love to switch to natural chicken too, but where do you find it?
ReplyDeleteMost large chain grocery store now carry natural food options. Giant Eagle is a store chain near me and they actually have a Giant Eagle brand called Natures basket and they offer natural options in almost every section of the store.
ReplyDeleteThe natural chicken is usually just a little further down from the regular (chemical filled) chicken.
There are also places on line where you can order bulk and save money. These are only beneficial if you can order bulk and have a large freezer to store them in. I don't have that luxury so I'm stuck with buying them in 3-packs at Giant Eagle for now.
I believe Publix brand Green Wise also has natural options.
Let me know what you find and if you find better options. :)