Summer has been relentlessy busy, so much so that I had temporarily abandoned my blog until now! I am back and I want to start by sharing a rant from Niti Bali of Farm to Fork Meat, a local - beyond organic -CSA that I subscribe to. Niti is an expert on all things food. It became her passion and driving force after losing her 4 year old daughter to a rare and environmentally triggered cancer. She studies everything and thinks so we don't have to. Thanks Niti! Here is her "no holds barred" response and inspiration to parents who throw up their hands in exasperation to their children's demands.
Hi Folks,
I have to ask. Have you ever thought about asking your children to make the foods they love to buy at the store and eat? I hear moms tell me things like,”My son loves to eat (fill in the blank with some food that is out of a box) so what can I do?”. To this I always wonder how little (fill in the name or your child/children) get their food if you are not the one BUYING IT FOR THEM. You are still buying food for your high school kids right?
SERIOUSLY FOLKS, I run my kitchen- my kids DO NOT because I AM THE ONE WITH THE MONEY, THEY ARE NOT. If they don’t like it, they can either starve or hope that the next 10-14 years fly by a little faster. I welcome my children to go to someone else’s home and live under their rules ANYTIME THEY WISH TO MOVE OUT. I told them that EVERYONE HAS RULES, perhaps someone out there has better rules than mine. They are free to examine and seek those homes out at their convenience.
I have always been of the old school thought that if I do not like something or the way something is playing out, I simply STOP. I SIT DOWN. I DON’T PARTAKE. Why is this concept difficult to grasp? If you don’t like something, STOP buying it or STOP doing it or STOP PARTICIPATING.
I believe all parents should challenge their children to MAKE THE FOOD THEY CLAIM TO LOVE SO MUCH. I want to watch a child attempt and succeed at making edible Captain Crunch with Crunch Berry cereal using only REAL FOOD INGREDIENTS. (This does not include GMO wheat or corn or soy and they may not use CHEMICALS that pretend to be food such as MSG or other food conditioners. MOST OF these grains are all GMO by the way.) I challenge them to make it and find it edible and if they are able to accomplish this feat, they may MAKE ALL THEY WISH TO CONSUME and enjoy millions of bowls of the stuff.
Today’s food is a result of some sort of rocket science. It is a chemistry experiment. I have mom’s everyday ask me what I mean when I say it is“chemistry experiment food”. IT IS NOT REAL, FOLKS. What I mean specifically is that there is a machine somewhere mixing up a bunch of CHEMICALS and calling it food. It begins with some organic components (wheat or corn or something GMO) and then CONDITIONERS ARE ADDED TO THE FOOD so that it is consistently how you want it to look and feel and taste. THIS IS NOT REAL FOOD.
Nature is NOT CONSISTENT; NATURE IS NOT UNIFORM and NATURE WILL NEVER ALWAYS BE THE SAME EVERYTIME.
REAL FOOD simply tastes wonderful and is satiating and nourishing and makes you FEEL GOOD- NOT SICK. Children today are so toxic they don’t know what it feels like NOT TO BE TOXIC! Children look to their parents to set an example of what they can and cannot eat. My children CAN NOT EAT FAKE FOOD simply because I WILL NOT ALLOW IT. In fact, I consider serving children chemistry project food a form of child abuse.
It is the adult’s responsibility to nourish the children and teach them what foods are safe and what foods are NOT SAFE. This is how things have worked since the beginning of time. No parent would allow their child to eat poisonous berries in the woods JUST BECAUSE they are pretty and the child WANTS TO EAT THEM. How is it different to allow your child to eat poison out of a grocery store? Is it because the FDA put the food IN THE STORE? They put cigarettes, snuff and alcohol in the store also. Are you going to allow the kids to partake in those? Is it because the GOVERNMENT has laws against it or because you do not believe it is the correct thing to promote?
If my children want to argue with me about chemistry project foods I am happy to help them figure out how to make the fake stuff they want to eat. If they can manage to create a real food version of it, they can have it. If not, they cannot. This is what they will have to live with in my house for the rest of their lives. It is not fun, but I am always going to be the bad guy because I love my children and do not want them to suffer needlessly. One day they will figure it out- probably not for another 40 years or perhaps never, but that is ok. When they are adults they can buy the fake crap if they wish, but by then I hope they will realize the way the fake junk makes them FEEL.
Children are unable to decipher these things without proper guidance. If you let them believe that chemistry food is SAFE- they will believe you because you are their parents! They look to you for guidance on EVERYTHING even if they WISH THEY COULD EAT THE ZEBRA CAKES, they will KNOW THAT YOU SAID IT IS NOT SAFE! EVEN IF they WANT TO JUMP OFF THE BRIDGE INTO THE RIVER, they KNOW YOU SAID IT IS NOT SAFE!
What is the difference in these scenarios? Please advise.
Riotly yours,
Niti
Niti Bali
Owner
