You have probably read that the average person eats 10 lbs. of bugs per year. That’s not a fact you like to think about much, I’ll bet. When our culture began to fear micro-organisms, we started to fear bugs, too. John the Baptist would be so disappointed in us. J
Virtually everything we eat, processed food included, has bugs in it. Food manufacturers have limits imposed by the FDA: maximum weight per pound of rat hair, for instance, or bug bodies. Manufacturers are allowed only two maggots per 100 grams of tomato sauce, or 60 bug fragments for 100 grams of peanut butter.
I’m here to tell you the upside. We get Vitamin B12 from micro-organisms in the soil. For years, people have loved to repeat that the plant-based diet is deficient because the ONLY place you get B12 is from red meat. This isn’t true. Animal flesh has B12 because animals eat things grown in organism-rich soil. Indigenous vegetarian peoples around the globe have been tested to have almost universally perfect B12 stores in their bodies. (They are eating close to the land.) If we didn’t nuke our soils with pesticides and so many other chemicals, because we’re so afraid of bugs, we wouldn’t have a B12 problem. The answer isn’t to gobble more animal flesh, which causes so many OTHER problems.
Eating a little dirt and a little bugs now and then isn’t a problem. I’m not suggesting you kill some crickets to add crunch to your salad tonight, though the ULTIMATE source of B12 is . . . termites. I’m just saying that before we introduced unnatural ways of changing our food supply, we didn’t have a B12 problem.
The best way to avoid worrying about B12 altogether may be to grow your own produce in your own organic garden, and buy organic produce when you can. It’s not too late. I’m growing winter greens in my covered garden right now, in Utah where it’s already snowed. Poisoning the plants we grow as food to get rid of insects is unnatural and has unintended consequences.
Right on.
Speaking of nuking our soils with pesticides and other chemicals, those of you who buy organic produce should take a look at this: “Organic Consumers Association Urges Action”. And you might pass it on to your friends! It only takes seconds to view the link.
If the hyperlink didn’t post, try copying and pasting this URL into your browser: http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/642/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=1751
Robyn, is your garden covered with glass…..greenhouse style? Not as elaborate?
Thanks!
Jean
Hi Michelle, I posted this onto our local organic meetup site yesterday. Right on!
As far as the bugs go…eeeewwwwwwwwwwwww! Hee Hee!
Interesting fact regarding that lowly termite. The termite cannot even digest wood without a ‘parasite’ organism that lives in his stomach. This symbiotic relationship provides the parasite with a warm/moist home full of nutrition and the termite doesn’t starve, because he becomes able to digest your porch! We are no different in our design if we do not populate our bodies with beneficial bacteria. Some of the fattest people in the world are actually malnourished and cannot absorb the vital force from foods they consume…hence they eat more and more in a vain attempt to satisfy their ‘hunger’ for health.
Hi all,
Here is a link to more info on this subject. This is also a great website for information on all the world’s healthiest foods.
If you ask yourself what the natural diet of a human in Utah would be, like native americans, well it definitely consisted of wild meats, bugs, bark, basically whatever they could find. They ate it!
All of the longest lived and healthiest populations on this planet eat some animal products
Some of you may not agree with all of their list because they have some meat and dairy on their list but there is not a single person on the planet that knows the perfect diet for humans. I know what the “China Study” says. I also know about the studies with rats. But people are not rats. Why are we always compared to rats? Because we can do tests on rats, they are not cute and no one cares what we do to rats.
Besides us not being rats, even animals in the same species have differences in their diets. How many different types of birds are there? They all have unique diets. Some are very similar, some are very different. So how can you compare us to rats? You can’t even compare all birds to each other.
I look to the people on this planet who are the leaders in longevity and functionality. Why reinvent the wheel? Just do what they do. What do they do? They all work alot. Lots of physical activity. People want to eat their way to good health. I read it on the side of something I bought at Good Earth. That is great marketing! Just eat our products and you will be healthy.
Everything that is worthwhile in this world is hard. That is what makes this place a test. Being in shape is hard work. I am talking about real physical conditioning. Not going to the gym 3 times a week and doing the minimum. Which is considered good for Americans.
You can’t eat your way to good health. There is absolutely no evidence of that and if you really think about it that doesn’t make sense.
Good nutritious food is absolutly part of the formula. Body + healthy food + excersise = health.
But what about mental health? How healthy can you be if you have the above formula but you are miserable in you life situation? Well that is a whole other discussion topic.
Here is the link http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=129
It is possible that John the Baptist was eating the bean pods of locust trees rather than bugs.
People who are health conscious can enjoy B12 benefits by using them as a food supplement and can maintain their health for long time. These supplements can be taken from the foods, pills or in the form of injections. Vitamin B12 along with other family members of B vitamins can helps to ensure the vital life of the human body. It is very good for healthy and active nervous system and is the best for the growth of DNA cells. It helps to form new red blood cells in the body. Another benefit is to maintain and retain the energy level of the body.
Reference:
http://www.b12deficiency.org/vitamin-b12-deficiency-symptoms-and-signs/