Cursed Food

Then to Adam He [God] said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’:

“Cursed is the ground for your sake;
In toil you shall eat of it
All the days of your life.
 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you,
And you shall eat the herb of the field.
 In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread
Till you return to the ground,
For out of it you were taken;
For dust you are,
And to dust you shall return.” 

{Genesis 3:17-19}

Ben enjoying fresh avocados

My relationship with food has not always been the most healthy. I knew quite a bit about nutrition, but did not see the need to make any real changes. Being naturally skinny, I only thought of the need to eat well in order to conform to society's version of beauty. I expected that I would clean up my act whenever I no longer fit this standard, or when I became pregnant. I thought I would become the hippie that I longed to be, but lacked the self-control or motivation to be at the time.

But being pregnant was much, MUCH harder than I had ever anticipated. It felt as though this little creature that I had never even met had hijacked my life, making it difficult to sleep, get around, wear clothes and even keep a decent meal down. In my broken-down spirit I could not bear to refuse myself any food I desired. I did not care that what I put in my mouth affected my son. He had taken so much from me: he was not about to take away my comfort food as well.

I immediately regretted that selfishness the second I saw his precious little face for the first time. I felt ashamed for all of the sugar, preservatives, and stress I had subjected his little body to take in while he relied helplessly on me for survival and growth. I regretted every bit of processed food and how I ignored the fact that some of the very things I was consuming was outlawed in other countries for the birth defects it caused on innocent children.

After that I became more concerned with what I was nourishing my family. I did thorough research on what I should be eating as a breastfeeding mama and what Ben's first foods should be. I was determined that although I had failed him while he was inside of me, he would be the healthy kid and adult that he could be.

I knew that it would be an adjustment, but I was shocked at how much work it would be. As I searched the grocery aisles and studied recipes online, I realized that I had two choices when it came to nourishing my family: spend the majority of our budget on foods that we cannot afford, or spend much time and energy into making these foods from scratch.

My first sourdough bread made completely from scratch (including the starter): not pretty, but absolutely delicious!

It was then that the reality of Adam's curse dawned on me. Our society has sought to make food convenient, fast and cheap. Whereas in times past people spent about 18% of their income on food, we now spend 9% (Michael Pollan, "Before You Grocery Shop Again", 2010). We are trying to escape the curse from the garden of Eden that our food comes at a price. It will take hard work and sacrifice to make our food, but we don't want to deal with the thorns and thistles of the field. Americans are seeking to modify our plants, soil, and animals to make food easy and cheap.

However, we cannot flaunt our curse without paying a much steeper price. That same study above found that the average American went from spending 5% on healthcare to 19%. It is a cruel irony that our food is more abundant, but our bodies are more malnourished than ever. We are wasting away from ugly diseases like cancer, heart disease and strokes in alarming numbers. Our children are increasingly suffering from behavioral problems and have a shorter life expectancy than their parents. 

Most of the time when we think of struggling for food and malnourishment, we picture babies with swollen bellies in Africa. The curse surely applies to them, but we have grocery stores lined with food! We can have food ready in a matter of minutes.  There are restaurants and fast food chains on every corner! Yet, we have not escaped the curse. To eat food that will bring life to the limbs costs: organic veggies and pasture-raised meat and dairy are expensive. It takes hard work and planning to make meals from scratch, but it also the only way to guarantee that the food is prepared correctly and responsibly without spending a large fortune. 

There is no magic formula, diet or angle for eating well: there is just hard work. And I am willing to pay that price for my family.