Eating Locally: Breast feeding Dilemma

                In recent years, there has been a lot of focus on eating in place. Many have adopted a meal plan that incorporates locally grown, in season food. Doing this ensures that the food you put in your mouth is environmentally friendly and has not travelled hundreds of miles to reach your plate. During the boom of people beginning to see the necessity of eating place, an urgency for breast feeding also took off.
             It is well known that breast feeding is the best source of nutrition for a newborn. Mothers are urged to breast feed their children for as long as possible due to the numerous health benefits. In addition to having great health benefits, breast feeding is affordable, and also incredibly local! This all sounds wonderful, but there is always a downfall. In this scenario it is that, the toxins that are destroying our planet have found their way into the breast of women around the world. Pollutants are easily stored in fat, which makes the breast a perfect container. Sandra Steingraber, the author of Having Faith, struggles with the decision of whether or not to breast feed her newborn because of this situation.
             The treatment of the earth we live on is now affecting one of the most basic forms of nutrition for infants. This must be recognized as a serious problem before one of the best forms of local food, becomes poisoned beyond the point of return.

Thanksgiving: Sharing a Meal with Loved Ones

                Every year, people across America gather to celebrate Thanksgiving. Grandmothers drag out their finest dish-wear, and the smell of turkey envelopes homes throughout the country. The anticipation for the long weekend, and lion's football is evident as the holiday approaches. But is it really the giant turkey and cranberry sauce that draws family home year after year? Seldom do people get to enjoy a long meal filled with conversations with their loved ones. Don't get me wrong, the turkey and cranberry sauce are definitely perks, but joining together with family to pause and be grateful, is what draws people back home to celebrate this holiday.
             The anticipation for Thanksgiving is so great, it is a mystery that gatherings such as this one, are not practiced more often. Getting back to the dinning table with family is a practice that seems to have been outgrown. Lives have become so fast paced that pausing for a family dinner seems nearly impossible, yet we yearn for celebrations, like Thanksgiving, so we can spend time with one-another and reflect on what matters most in life. So this year make a point to spend more time at the dinner table, which is probably collecting dust, with those who mean the most.