Who, what, when, why

[JB]

Just something I always wonder...

When and why did you decide to go natural / organic / green?

I started 'going green' about two years ago when I ran into an old friend from high school. In high school, he was the chubby kid with acne - basically had an 'unhealthy' look. He was known for bringing high fat foods to eat for lunch, and for being a regular at the cafeteria vending machines. But, when I saw him a couple years ago he was... different. His acne was gone, and he was trim and lean. Not at all like he was in high school. He seemed very healthy. We got to chatting, and he briefly mentioned switching to a raw foods diet. It got me curious. After I got home that day, I did a little research. It sounded crazy, so I didn't even give it a second thought. But, I kept thinking about how different Tom was.

Well, to make a long story short, I ended up switching to a mostly raw foods diet (I can elaborate later). My research for that also led me to websites about living green (some in the raw foods community have decided to go that route because conventional cooking methods can be harmful to the environment). I'm still not carbon neutral, but I'm getting there - and I'm healthy for it!

What's your story?

[Gina]

For me, I didn't start out with the intention of going all organic. It just sort of happened. I've always liked the taste of organic produce better, but I wasn't in it for health reasons until recently. Because of cost, I mostly just shopped at the discount grocery store where the produce wasn't near as good as organic.

When my first child was born (he's two and half now) he had the most sensitive skin. It was hard to find baby bath products that he could use. And even the laundry detergent for sensitive skin made his skin break out in rashes. That's when I started using organic personal care products for everyone. He's sensitive to most chemicals, even what's in the infant products, so since switching, it's been a life saver.

Organic shampoo led to eating mostly organic food, which led to trying to be as eco-friendly as possible. It wasn't something I set out to do one day, it was more of a natural progression stemming from wanting to be healthier.

Not much of a story, I guess.

[JB]

admin said:

Not much of a story, I guess.

But it answered the questions and got the point across.

[Bou]

I've only recently started on a raw food diet. Like, within the past few weeks or so.

I've been seeing so many people who are on it that look amazing, and are so healthy. After seeing Carol Alt on some show talking about the raw food diet, I started researching it. Everything I found...amazed me, and even in some instances shocked me.

And looking at how I've been eating, and how my family has been eating...there's no way I can even think of going for anything else.

Next day, I told my parents what I won't be eating, and what I will be eating.

When I left the room, I overheard them saying I was basically insane, and that this diet was going to be so expensive.

I don't know why they think that wanting to become a raw veganist is insane. I think they're just so used of eating basically whatever they want, whenever they want, and never really paying attention to what they're putting into their bodys.

I've been doing a lot better since I've started this. It really is helping me a lot, and I don't ever want to go back to how I was eating before. I've never really eaten that much when I do eat, but the foods that I ate...not the best for me really.

So, it's really nice.

[Gina]

Bou, it must be challenging to be so convicted in your food choices, but have parents who are the opposite. When I was in high school, if I didn't eat what everyone else was eating, I'd starve to death! Maybe if you show them some of your research, they'll be a little more supportive. They probably just don't know how healthy it CAN be (there's always the other extreme - even people on the raw foods diet make poor health and nutrition choices - and those are the ones who give a bad name to the rest). Anyway, I think it's great that you're determined enough to pursue it despite the negative feedback from your family. That's hard, at any age!

[JB]

Bou, I'm 23 and my parents have that same attitude with me. But, I don't live with them, so we don't really talk about it that much.