Paranoia

Some of you probably remember when I first started using a standing desk.  Two years ago, my dad continuously sent the family articles about how "office chairs are killing us", which lead to me reading all the New York Times articles on backs, sitting, and its effect on health, and culminated in me building a standing desk at work out of cardboard boxes.  When I told my dad, he let me know that he has a similar model himself. 

I brought my standing desk across the country (not the actual boxes, just the idea), and for the first month of my job explained, "No, I don't have back problems, but I don't expect to get them, either.  This is preventative, and I am going to live forever," until the standing desk became commonplace, but to my disappointment, has not caught on around the workplace.

My mom recently recommended a diet she has been doing that requires you to eat fruits, vegetables, beans and a limited amount of whole grains, starchy vegetables and nuts for 90% of your food, and 10% can be other (meat, chocolate, wine).  I read the book (my mom didn't), and it told me that, like my office chair, these "other" foods are killing me.  Animal products and processed foods are also destroying the environment.  I went on to read Food, Inc, a book of essays by various journalists, organic farmers, and activist group leaders, telling me just how bad our food system is to the planet, poor farmers, poor countries, and our own bodies. 

Aside from wine, I have only eaten fruits, vegetables, beans, and a limited amount of nuts (I'm holding out on the whole grains and starchy veggies for now, as I know that will be the only thing I'll want to eat) since starting the book a week and a half ago.  Then, I started composting and buying the most dangerous foods organic.  Today, I am going to the farmers market.

Note for you East-Coasters:  In Washington, composting is like recycling.  There is a "yard waste" bin and you just throw your food garbage in it.  The difficult part is that I don't want a closed bin for it in the apartment because it will get so gross, and I don't want to leave it out in a bowl because it will attract bugs.  My solution is to keep it in a bowl (easily washable) and take it out twice daily, in the morning before I leave for work and at night before I go to bed.  Not only am I helping the environment, but I am getting more exercise on the stairs.

I bookmarked references to other interesting food system and diet books, and after finishing Grant, will probably circle back to those and get increasingly paranoid about food, what it is doing to me, and what it is doing to the world.  We'll see how far I go with this.