Poll How you feel about trying to live a green lifestyle

[Calliope84]

Ok, so I've been thinking about some things lately and I've been frustrated, too. I have some philosophical type questions for you. This pertains to trying to live "green" and keep toxic chemicals and stuff out of your home and away from your family. It isn't so much just about babywearing or breastfeeding, but more about finding non toxic products and getting chemicals out of our lives.

1.) Why do you try to live a green or natural lifestyle?

2.)Do you have any hopes and dreams for your kids and family that are helped by living this way?

3.) What are your greatest frustrations when it comes to trying to live a natural / green lifestyle?

4.) What do you wish you had that would make living this way easier?

5.) What products are hardest for you to find?

I just thought it would be interesting to see how everyone else thinks about these things and how they cope / deal with it.

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Now my answers:

1.) Why do you try to live a green or natural lifestyle? 

I want to keep my family healthy now and for the long run. I don't want to support corporations that pollute the earth and have no regard for me or my family.

2.)Do you have any hopes and dreams for your kids and family that are helped by living this way?

I want my daughter to grow up and not get cancer like I did as a teen. I want her to learn how to care for the earth and live sustainably. I hope that by keeping toxins out of our home and her diet, that maybe it can help her to grow optimally and have a bright mind, too (I mean, keeping neurotoxins away from her so they don't damage her growing brain.)  I hope that the actions of our little family help in the overall "green" movement and help push it along. I want to leave a cleaner earth for my children and grandchildren.

3.) What are your greatest frustrations when it comes to trying to live a natural / green lifestyle?

I'm REALLY angry about how many chemicals are in our environment. No matter how much I do, I still can't get rid of them all. I'm angry my daughter is getting flame retardant and other chemicals in her breast milk and probably from most of our furniture and cars. I feel really frustrated and helpless about this and the fact that corporations are still getting away with selling this cancer causing junk and it feels like I'm up against something impossible. I'm frustrated that I can't just walk in most of my local stores and buy SAFE products and I'm angry that so many corporations are trying to jump on the "green" bandwagon and "greenwash" their products when they really contain toxic stuff. 

4.) What do you wish you had that would make living this way easier?

This site is very helpful. I find myself coming to these forums a lot looking at old threads when I want "reviews" of different companies. There are no sites with EVERYTHING I want to know and certainly no books. A few blogs I know of have good info, but a lot of research is needed for me to even figure out one safe company. I wish I had all the information in one place. The books I have on green living kind of suck, so I wish I had a step by step guide because I am so overwhelmed with what to get rid of and what to keep.  I wish I had a constantly up to date list of companies I could trust, but it is hard to know since companies are constantly moving manufacturing to china, having lead recalls and such, and flat out lying about what is and isn't in their stuff.

5.) What products are hardest for you to find?

I don't worry about cleaning products because we gave up and use vinegar and water.

*Organic pesticides that are really somewhat non-toxic

*Organic produce (my local stores don't have it.)

*Organic clothing I can afford

*SAFE TOYS that we can also afford.. I know there are great online stores I can go to, but even then it is like, are they really safe? I ordered some HABA cloth blocks that smelled really chemically disgusting when I got them.  I think it was the foam in the blocks. It turns out Haba's cloth stuff is all made in China now and I returned them. 

[crunchy_mommy]

1.) Why do you try to live a green or natural lifestyle?
I feel like it's best for the earth and its inhabitants. I also feel like for me, there is no reason not to live as naturally as possible. There is no reason to use artificial products, chemicals, etc. when I have alternatives available.

2.)Do you have any hopes and dreams for your kids and family that are helped by living this way?
Never thought about it like this. I guess just that I have always hoped he'll live a long, happy, healthy life, and this is one way to get there. Also, I feel like our practices help teach him compassion, respect, and other values I want to pass on to him.

3.) What are your greatest frustrations when it comes to trying to live a natural / green lifestyle?
I share your frustrations, Calliope, that no matter how much I try, I cannot protect my family because there are chemicals in EVERYTHING. I hate that there is always something new to be wary of. I am also frustrated with how expensive it is to buy safe toys, organic food, non-toxic furniture, etc. and that often our financial limitations win out. It's hard to go into a place like Walmart & know we could afford everything we want/need if we just give in to the MIC/potentially toxic/exploitative stuff... and have to choose to go without to hold to our values.

4.) What do you wish you had that would make living this way easier?
Time & money. And a more eco-friendly place to live (CA maybe??? or is that just an illusion??)

5.) What products are hardest for you to find?
Hmm... overall, made in US products that are affordable and locally available. Also, things like vegan homeopathics, sucrose-free ibuprofen, non-toxic product to get rid of yellow jackets, non-toxic realistic baby doll, affordable furniture/mattresses... lots of things, I guess!!

[greenemami]

1.) Why do you try to live a green or natural lifestyle?  To better our personal health and the health of the planet. 

2.)Do you have any hopes and dreams for your kids and family that are helped by living this way?   Obviously to keep us as healthy as we can be, for as long as we can.  Also that they learn to live simply and sustainably with more awareness of marketing schemes and consumerism (i.e. realizing that you have to look deeper than the adverstising and really think about need vs. want in regards to buying items that are ultimately for you/the earth.)

3.) What are your greatest frustrations when it comes to trying to live a natural / green lifestyle? That it seems impossible to avoid all toxins, chemicals, etc..  They are everywhere, in everything it seems :(

4.) What do you wish you had that would make living this way easier?  Money!!!!!!!!  I get so frustrated that I just simply cannot afford chemical-free mattresses, bedding, clothes, organic food, etc.  We do our best with homemade cleaners and detergents, etc., but some things money would really help with!

5.) What products are hardest for you to find?  I am able to find most of what I need, but I do wish affordable local organic produce was more readily available.

Great questions OP!

[MJB]

1.) Why do you try to live a green or natural lifestyle? I am concerned about our impact on the environment and global warming. 

2.)Do you have any hopes and dreams for your kids and family that are helped by living this way? Yeah, that global warming can be curbed and they can live without being hugely negatively impacted by global warming. 

3.) What are your greatest frustrations when it comes to trying to live a natural / green lifestyle? That a lot of "green" stuff isn't really better for the environment, and that a lot of people are just trying to make a buck off of it. Plus, I hate, hate, hate quackery and have to wade through so much of it.

4.) What do you wish you had that would make living this way easier? An electric car. Nuclear, wind, or solar power. 

5.) What products are hardest for you to find?  I don't really have trouble finding things, it's just weighing the impact of different products that is hard. 

 

[Calliope84]

Originally Posted by MJB 

1.) Why do you try to live a green or natural lifestyle? I am concerned about our impact on the environment and global warming. 

2.)Do you have any hopes and dreams for your kids and family that are helped by living this way? Yeah, that global warming can be curbed and they can live without being hugely negatively impacted by global warming. 

3.) What are your greatest frustrations when it comes to trying to live a natural / green lifestyle? That a lot of "green" stuff isn't really better for the environment, and that a lot of people are just trying to make a buck off of it. Plus, I hate, hate, hate quackery and have to wade through so much of it.

4.) What do you wish you had that would make living this way easier? An electric car. Nuclear, wind, or solar power. 

5.) What products are hardest for you to find?  I don't really have trouble finding things, it's just weighing the impact of different products that is hard. 

 

What do you mean by "quackery"? The green washing stuff, where companies say their products are better or non-toxic, and then you dig a little deeper and find out that "non-toxic" crayons or something have something like formaldehyde, etc.?

Are there any books or sites you know of that you trust completely to give you accurate info, or do you feel like you have to do your own research every single time?

I typically look things up and if I find the same thing on multiple green sites AND the manufacturer also backs up the claim on the site, then I consider the claim validated. What really frustrates me is how much TIME it takes for me to do all this research. I'm happy that there are at least some green sites already out there, though, that have info.

Do you have a lot of stuff locally or do you have to get it online.. do you have any good stores you use? 

I agree with you with determining impact. I can't tell you how much research I had to do regarding cloth diapers vs disposable. At the end of the day I chose cloth, but I have to wash them so many times because I have an HE washer, that I wonder what the impact really is. ;(
 

[Calliope84]

Originally Posted by crunchy_mommy 

1.) Why do you try to live a green or natural lifestyle?
I feel like it's best for the earth and its inhabitants. I also feel like for me, there is no reason not to live as naturally as possible. There is no reason to use artificial products, chemicals, etc. when I have alternatives available.

2.)Do you have any hopes and dreams for your kids and family that are helped by living this way?
Never thought about it like this. I guess just that I have always hoped he'll live a long, happy, healthy life, and this is one way to get there. Also, I feel like our practices help teach him compassion, respect, and other values I want to pass on to him.

3.) What are your greatest frustrations when it comes to trying to live a natural / green lifestyle?
I share your frustrations, Calliope, that no matter how much I try, I cannot protect my family because there are chemicals in EVERYTHING. I hate that there is always something new to be wary of. I am also frustrated with how expensive it is to buy safe toys, organic food, non-toxic furniture, etc. and that often our financial limitations win out. It's hard to go into a place like Walmart & know we could afford everything we want/need if we just give in to the MIC/potentially toxic/exploitative stuff... and have to choose to go without to hold to our values.

4.) What do you wish you had that would make living this way easier?
Time & money. And a more eco-friendly place to live (CA maybe??? or is that just an illusion??)

5.) What products are hardest for you to find?
Hmm... overall, made in US products that are affordable and locally available. Also, things like vegan homeopathics, sucrose-free ibuprofen, non-toxic product to get rid of yellow jackets, non-toxic realistic baby doll, affordable furniture/mattresses... lots of things, I guess!!

Ugh. I hear you on the wal-mart thing. I lust after particle board furniture because we need more shelving and stuff in our home, but I don't want to bring it home so it can off gas continually or have my baby chewing on it. I also look at all these cheap plastic toys and wish I could just trust them. I feel bad we already have a few that made it into our house though.

When you say "Time" and Money, do you mean time to shop or do research?  

California IS a more eco-friendly place to live. The whole West Coast is. I've thought about moving back to the NW just because of this, but it rains a lot there and most of our family still lives in the south.

Do you shop online at all? I can't find ANYTHING locally unless I go to whole foods. And whole foods sells some baby items and stuff, but they jack the prices way up above Amazon's and other stores and then I can't check reviews for the things I am already paying a lot for. Then I shop at these places online and wonder how my choice to get things shipped to my house affects the environment.
 

[Calliope84]

Originally Posted by greenemami 

1.) Why do you try to live a green or natural lifestyle?  To better our personal health and the health of the planet. 

2.)Do you have any hopes and dreams for your kids and family that are helped by living this way?   Obviously to keep us as healthy as we can be, for as long as we can.  Also that they learn to live simply and sustainably with more awareness of marketing schemes and consumerism (i.e. realizing that you have to look deeper than the adverstising and really think about need vs. want in regards to buying items that are ultimately for you/the earth.)

3.) What are your greatest frustrations when it comes to trying to live a natural / green lifestyle? That it seems impossible to avoid all toxins, chemicals, etc..  They are everywhere, in everything it seems :(

4.) What do you wish you had that would make living this way easier?  Money!!!!!!!!  I get so frustrated that I just simply cannot afford chemical-free mattresses, bedding, clothes, organic food, etc.  We do our best with homemade cleaners and detergents, etc., but some things money would really help with!

5.) What products are hardest for you to find?  I am able to find most of what I need, but I do wish affordable local organic produce was more readily available.

Great questions OP!

Thanks!

How are you teaching your kids about choosing what they need wisely while also making sure they don't feel deprived? I am having a lot of trouble with this. A lot of family / friends have made comments about me "depriving" my daughter because I don't want her wearing disney princess pjs that might have flame retardant in them, or I don't want her eating certain junky foods.

What do you think is "affordable" for you guys to buy the chemical free stuff? I can't afford it, either. I found the cheapest possible organic crib mattress for DD (yet she still co-sleeps) and when we bought a new mattress, I had to settle for a natural latex / soy mattress that supposedly used a more eco friendly / less chemical process to make the foam. I did a bunch of research on it, but the real reason we bought it was because it was on clearance at a local mattress store. We were sleeping ON A PVC WATERBED during my entire pregnancy. I cringe thinking about it and hope that it had mostly offgassed by then. I just got some cotton flame retardant free pjs for DD on ebay. They aren't organic, but they are from a company that makes clothes I definitely can't afford to buy new. 

(I just went on that company's site, btw and even though they sell all organic cotton clothes now, they have Halo sleep sacks for sale and I've read some of those may have flame retardant in them! UGH.)

[MJB]

Originally Posted by Calliope84 

What do you mean by "quackery"? The green washing stuff, where companies say their products are better or non-toxic, and then you dig a little deeper and find out that "non-toxic" crayons or something have something like formaldehyde, etc.?

Are there any books or sites you know of that you trust completely to give you accurate info, or do you feel like you have to do your own research every single time?

I typically look things up and if I find the same thing on multiple green sites AND the manufacturer also backs up the claim on the site, then I consider the claim validated. What really frustrates me is how much TIME it takes for me to do all this research. I'm happy that there are at least some green sites already out there, though, that have info.

Do you have a lot of stuff locally or do you have to get it online.. do you have any good stores you use? 

I agree with you with determining impact. I can't tell you how much research I had to do regarding cloth diapers vs disposable. At the end of the day I chose cloth, but I have to wash them so many times because I have an HE washer, that I wonder what the impact really is. ;(
 

By quackery I mean things like homeopathics, fad foods like gluten-free/no soy/etc., and other things that have no scientific basis but are promoted as "natural" consumer alternatives. "Natural" detergents that don't really work, so you have to run the washer 3 times to get your diapers clean instead of once with a tablespoon of Tide and end up being much worse for the environment. 

[Calliope84]

Originally Posted by MJB 

By quackery I mean things like homeopathics, fad foods like gluten-free/no soy/etc., and other things that have no scientific basis but are promoted as "natural" consumer alternatives. "Natural" detergents that don't really work, so you have to run the washer 3 times to get your diapers clean instead of once with a tablespoon of Tide and end up being much worse for the environment. 

Yeah...maybe it is time I switched to Tide regular because my dipes require a splash of BLEACH to get clean. ;( Darn HEs....

[Linda on the move]

Although we have been an AP, GD, etc family for the last 15 years, we are really new to natural living.

1.) Why do you try to live a green or natural lifestyle?

We are making these changes because of a desire to cut down how many chemicals touch us each day, a desire to be healthier

2.)Do you have any hopes and dreams for your kids and family that are helped by living this way?

To me, that's the same question as #2

3.) What are your greatest frustrations when it comes to trying to live a natural / green lifestyle?

Up til now, it was that my family wasn't into it at all. What is making this change possible now is that they, esp. my DH, is totally on board. I find this style of living to be MORE WORK and to do that work and then have my family act like they were getting something lesser was very draining for me so I gave up. But now that has shifted.

4.) What do you wish you had that would make living this way easier?

I'm not sure -- our city is really a good place for this and I feel I have excellent resources on the web. But I do feel like it takes more time on my part.

5.) What products are hardest for you to find?

none yet

[crunchy_mommy]

Originally Posted by Calliope84 

<<p>When you say "Time" and Money, do you mean time to shop or do research?  

Both!! Mostly for research though. I like to know exactly what I'm buying, but we don't have smart phones or anything so I have to do all my research before going to the store and then I get there and realize the options are completely different than I expected so I have to either blindly pick one or go home & start researching again. I'm a bit obsessive about it actually. And I don't like shopping online because shipping fees add up. It's not easy being a tightwad AND trying to live a 'natural' lifestyle lol.

Originally Posted by MJB 

By quackery I mean things like homeopathics, fad foods like gluten-free/no soy/etc., and other things that have no scientific basis but are promoted as "natural" consumer alternatives. "Natural" detergents that don't really work, so you have to run the washer 3 times to get your diapers clean instead of once with a tablespoon of Tide and end up being much worse for the environment. 

Hmm I think your examples are interesting... some (not all) homeopathics work really well for my family. And GF (and soy-free, when I can stick to it, which I'm terrible at!) made huge changes in my health, though I'm still sick, so it's certainly not a cure-all. And I've never had to wash diapers multiple times, though we make our own detergent not a store-bought 'green' one. I get your point but I don't think all those things are quackery, just that they don't work for everyone & in every situation. I do wish those kinds of things were scientifically researched so it would be easier for consumers to figure out which things might work for them.

[isabchi]

1.) Why do you try to live a green or natural lifestyle?

I think a natural living should be the default of human life.All the rest makes of our life more difficult and lack of choices of plenty life in terms of health.

2.)Do you have any hopes and dreams for your kids and family that are helped by living this way?

I wish they live and take cre of themselves and pick carefully and holistic approach in every choices of their life

3.) What are your greatest frustrations when it comes to trying to live a natural / green lifestyle?

I'm kind of  share your frustration, but I get more unconfortable with the people that they don't care, are hopeless and do nothing. They're the ones that make toxic companies sucessefull.

4.) What do you wish you had that would make living this way easier?

Early education, maybe that my parents were more critic's in their time. Off course, more more money to do more.

5.) What products are hardest for you to find?

 A running green car/truck more affordale.

[Linda on the move]

Originally Posted by crunchy_mommy 

It's not easy being a tightwad AND trying to live a 'natural' lifestyle lol.


Hmm I think your examples are interesting... some (not all) homeopathics work really well for my family. And GF (and soy-free, when I can stick to it, which I'm terrible at!) made huge changes in my health, though I'm still sick, so it's certainly not a cure-all.

I really feel like spending less money is part of it, or to me it seems like the "natural" part is sort of BS. I'm really not into spending twice as much money of a product that doesn't work as well because it's more "natural."  To me, that seems more like a scam.

Some homeopathics work well for us, but we still use traditional medicine. GF didn't make a difference for my DD who had some issues, but I know other people who gotten great results. It really seems to vary.

I guess one thing I would magically change if I could is to know ahead of time which things will work for us and which ones won't. That would save a lot of time (and money!)

Another randomly related thought -- I'm fine with my kids making whatever choices they want to make. Totally fine. My history is that I was raised by radical fundamental Christians who disowned me when I left the religion, and sometimes some natural families remind me of them. It becomes a mortality thing, it's extreme and judgmental. I, personally, need to stay far away from those attitudes, which are far more toxic to me than anything found in a cleaning product. I'd rather my kids use deodorant with aluminum but know that they are completely loved and accepted than to make their own and think that my approval of them rest on that.

[FarmerBeth]

Originally Posted by Calliope84 

1.) Why do you try to live a green or natural lifestyle?

Because I think the Earth is big enough humans should be able to share it with the rest of the Earth's inhabitants and each other.

2.)Do you have any hopes and dreams for your kids and family that are helped by living this way?

I think our kids' generation is more on board than we were, and I have hope that they can sustain a vision to make healthful living on our planet sustainable.

3.) What are your greatest frustrations when it comes to trying to live a natural / green lifestyle?

I was raised this way (on an organic dairy and poultry farm before the term was common) but my husband wasn't.  He agrees in principle, but he has to work hard at knowing how to apply it (especially with cooking).  Sometimes I have to let it go when he's the one home cooking or he picks up some groceries and it's not as "green " as I'd like.

4.) What do you wish you had that would make living this way easier?

I wish conversion to wind power was a little bit cheaper and that our local utility was more supportive in buying back power (if we make more than we use, it would be nice to get a little back for it.  I also wish we could afford an electric car.  We have the most fuel efficient car of its class that's not hybrid, but I just can't roll out the dough to jump to a hybrid or electric.  In a rural location, it's hard to avoid more driving (although our food drives a lot less miles and the 100 mile diet is pretty feasible here, we're 80km (sorry Americans, can't convert to miles off hand) to get to a large grocery store with a variety of foods when we can't buy farmer direct.

5.) What products are hardest for you to find?

I can find most, but the price can be high.  Overall, there's just plain a lot of plastic everywhere, everything from handles in cooking utensils, technological devices, packaging in supposedly green products, etc.

--

[meemee]

first i should say i dont really follow the non toxic so much. i try my best within my means to do the best i can but i dont worry about organic cotton clothes or mattress. so perhaps my answers may be different.

1.) Why do you try to live a green or natural lifestyle?

i am not sure how to answer this question. its like asking me why do i breathe? how can not one live green esp. with everything around us is terrible. however green to me has a different definition. green to me means local as much i can within my means. which means i will choose local thrift store clothes (thus recycled no matter where they are made) rather than say organic cotton from Egypt. but the main why is we have to live respectfully to the earth and my other fellow human beings who may not have the same opportunities as me. living in the US i am contributing far more stuff to the environment than say someone from Bolivia who has to bear the brunt of my actions more than I do AND pay for it more than i have to. 

2.)Do you have any hopes and dreams for your kids and family that are helped by living this way?

here's my favourite quote from my favourite anthropologist Wade Davis -  It means that a young kid from the Andes who's raised to believe that that mountain is an Apu spirit that will direct his or her destiny will be a profoundly different human beingand have a different relationship to that resource or that place than a young kid from Montana raised to believe that a mountain is a pile of rock ready to be mined. Whether it's the abode of a spirit or a pile of ore is irrelevant. What's interesting is the metaphor that defines the relationship between the individual and the natural world. I was raised in the forests of British Columbia to believe those forests existed to be cut. That made me a different human being than my friends among the Kwagiulth who believe that those forests were the abode of Huxwhukw and the Crooked Beak of Heaven and the cannibal spirits that dwelled at the north end of the world, spirits they would have to engage during their Hamatsa initiation.

3.) What are your greatest frustrations when it comes to trying to live a natural / green lifestyle?

when finding corporations do everything to stop you from truly living green. the greatest frustration is knowing the answers are out there - but we are not allowed to have them yet.  tesla, the electric car... when the info is purposely kept away from u. 

also food production. to know that the real cost of food is organic food. yet subsidies are putting 'chemicals' on the table. 

the idea amongst people that the gnarly heirloom tomato is inferior to the shiny thick skin chemical called tomato because the heirloom does not 'look good'

the new 'organic' revolution that has been discovered as a business and over prices everything.

4.) What do you wish you had that would make living this way easier?

not exactly sure. i mean yeah $$$s, but its actually the lack of $$$s that made it easier for me to live a more green lifestyle. maybe more access to local grains. 

5.) What products are hardest for you to find?

local grain. nice plot of land to garden with without having a tonne of drainoffs from your pesticide and fertilizer riddled land of your neighbor. local green building material. 

[Calliope84]

All these answers are pretty interesting!

[Smokering]

WRT to what I find hard to source... free-range, non-MSG, non-nitrate-filled bacon. Basically impossible to get here. And I love bacon. :(

[Calliope84]

Originally Posted by Smokering 

WRT to what I find hard to source... free-range, non-MSG, non-nitrate-filled bacon. Basically impossible to get here. And I love bacon. :(

I found a somewhat local free range farm near us. We bought half a pig awhile back and it ended up costing us $4.66lb only! They did smoke my bacon and put nitrates in it, though. I could have gotten it without, though. I found the farm on eatwild.com

Anyone else out there want to share? I was really enjoying the discussion. ;)

[VisionaryMom]

Originally Posted by MJB 
By quackery I mean things like homeopathics, fad foods like gluten-free/no soy/etc., and other things that have no scientific basis but are promoted as "natural" consumer alternatives. "Natural" detergents that don't really work, so you have to run the washer 3 times to get your diapers clean instead of once with a tablespoon of Tide and end up being much worse for the environment. 

Gluten-free is just a labeling statement, not a product design. As someone with celiac (as in I have physically verifiable symptoms from eating foods containing gluten), I'm happy that there are more products with the GF label - makes life easier. Most foods that are labeled as gluten-free aren't any more or less natural than the gluten items. They're just made with different ingredients, so instead of bread made with wheat flour, GF bread is made with rice flour. There's no "quackery" about it. In fact, people in some cultures use almost all rice flour and cornmeal. People didn't eat much wheat historically, which is what most healthcare researchers believe accounts for what appears to be a rise in celiac and gluten insensitivity (two different conditions). In the West, farmers cross-pollinate wheat for a higher gluten content (because then it takes less of the plant to work as a filler in foods). One can be GF without eating anything processed like breads, pasta, etc., but it's nice that those products are available for those of us who cannot have them. To pretend that the wheat-based options for pasta, for instance, aren't highly processed and damaging if eaten in large quantities (hello Type 2 diabetes epidemic) isn't true. 
 

[meemee]

i was reminded of this thread yesterday as i watched this man walk home. he was an older gentleman and by his walk i could tell he had health problems. he went grocery shopping at target. he came home with 20 packs of frozen dinners (yeah i counted) and some cookies adn stuff. he probably has a spic and span unused oven at his place with a well used microwave oven. 

and i thought to myself - what are we doing to ourselves? that one never even thinks of thinking of diet when one gets sick. his food habits are the reality of the majority than the minority. 

and so i wonder what other new allergies will show up or different conditions to celiac or diabetes. what will the health of an american look like in say 2111. we are the country where food is the cheapest compared to most countries in the world. worse we have an ABUNDANCE of food - fresh food, yet its all crap that the majority mostly eats. 

its says something doesnt it when our popular foods are pbj and cheese or pepperoni pizza or burger and fries.