Just When You Thought You Were Safe

When did plain old food, in general, get so frikin' scary??  I have been reading these articles lately on BPA in canned food, additives, like MSG and Red Dye 40, from which to stay away, how terrible high fructose corn syrup really is for my kids.  And it is giving me nightmares!!  Just reading the labels on two things I put in my daughters mouth yesterday gave me a mini panic attack.  She needed an antihistamine for her poor cold and she had a raspberry yogurt with lunch-- both contained RED 40!!  Here ya go, sweetheart.  Your nose is finally dry, here's a cup of yogurt you love so much with a BRAIN TUMOR on the side!!  I wonder if it is age or circumstance or location that is leading me to care more about where my family's food comes from.  I don't recall it being a very big deal as a kid.  We went to the supermarket; they had what we needed, so we bought it, brought it home and ate it.  Period.  Now I'm trying to buy organic meat (or locally raised meat).  I made all of Aurelia's baby food from real fruits and vegetables, and while I have been lazy about making Thad's, I won't be anymore.  (I bought a new food processor tonight!)  I'm starting a little garden, for basic things that we use all the time like tomatoes, strawberries and herbs.  (Yes, I am, Matthew; just you watch!!)  It's just crazy how the pendulum swings, isn't it?  200 years ago, people grew what they needed to survive and didn't have to worry about pesticides or preservatives.  Processed foods became a luxury, over time.  (Funny story: I was talking to my grandmother about breastfeeding Aurelia, and she told me it just wasn't done when she was raising my dad--the 50s).  Anyway, everything I have to feed my children terrifies me.

Speaking of things that terrify me:  MoveOn.org, stop sending out ridiculously horrifying emails.  November is five.and.a.half months away.  The GOP has barely chosen their candidate and President Obama has not begun to seriously campaign.  Mitt Romney is not a shoo-in!!  Good GAWD!  (I need to get back into election-year mode... Election year Jamie is not a pretty site, and last time around, she had alot more sleep under her belt.)

Anyway... there's that.