Go with your gut. Use your brain. Follow your heart. I don’t care which body part you use as long as you’re using some part of yourself (above the belt) to make decisions. “Duh, ” you might say. “Who else would be making my decisions for me?” Sadly, there are lots of people making our decisions and influencing the choices that we all make. These people have one interest in mind; money. Guess what? Trusting people who continuously buy their products keep the makers of these foods in business.

Can I always trust my instincts? I am still human. If I’m driving to a new place and trying to find my way, my gut does little good. There could literally be a sign on the road with my name and the words TURN HERE and I’ll still second guess the next move. But when it comes to the foods I eat, the personal care products I use and the cleaning supplies I buy, my instincts serve me well.

Why should you use your common sense? Because you’ve got it. Why waste perfectly good logical skills that have been implanted in your brain simply because it’s less work to listen to companies, advertisements, government groups, political organizations and the media?

So when should we use our common sense? I use mine as part of my quest to rid the world of evil, toxic industries. How do I define an industry as toxic? Well, if there’s a huge association that produces a product and that product either makes people sick immediately as a result of consumption or it contributes to a host of  ailments in the long run, and that industry is very wealthy and politically connected and goes to painstaking efforts to frequently lobby in attempt to keep themselves in business and downplay the harmful effects of their product with little regard for the human beings who purchase that product, then I declare that industry as evil. A mouthful, but true.

Are you a meat eater? Sorry if you are, but I’m not going to spend the next few minutes trying to convince you to stop eating cooked flesh. I’m not even going to describe, in painful details, the ordeal that the majority of cows endure as they await inhumane slaughter, standing ankle-deep in their own crap and the crap of their fellow cow neighbor. I won’t mention the horrible living conditions, disgusting grains thrown on the ground as a cheap means of fattening the cows to maximize production, the sad painful mooing sounds emanating from the cramped feedlot, or the generally insensitive treatment of the animals. Why not? Because I’m sure you’ve heard all this already. So use your common sense before biting into that burger. Know where it comes from. Know that there are beef producers who don’t want you to know how the cows are treated, what the disgusting meat they’re selling is actually comprised of, how much of it is actually tainted with harmful bacteria, and the slaughterhouse and packing plant operations and conditions.

How about the dairy industry who has us all drinking 3 glasses of milk a day in fear that if we miss a glass our bones will completely shatter into a million pieces? The industry that capitalizes on our fear of osteoporosis and has us believing that dairy equals calcium? Quick, ask yourself  for the first association that pops into your head when asked to name foods that contain calcium? Is it milk? Cheese? Yogurt? Ice cream? (I was told by my doctor to enjoy lots of ice cream when I was pregnant because it would provide me with calcium). Guess what? There are lots of other foods that provide calcium and don’t have the negative effects of dairy. And I can guarantee you that many of the stupid celebrities who don those idiotic milk mustaches to support this propaganda campaign don’t put too much dairy into their own bodies. What’s wrong with dairy, you ask? We’ll get to that another time. Just know that there’s more to learn, especially if you are not a fan of having an acidic body or your kids are frequent visitors of the pediatrician’s office due to ear infections, snotty noses and coughs.

What do you think of the sugar industry, who lobbied heavily to make sure that the maximum daily allowance of sugar is a whopping 25%, instead of the World Heath Organization’s recommended 10%? Sounds like a good way to keep people sick, fat, and addicted to sugar, and a great way to keep sugar producers in business.

How about the Corn Refiners Association? They’re off to change their name from high fructose corn syrup to corn sugar. They are sick of the bad rap their product is getting, and don’t like the fact that sales are falling.  Also a topic for a future post, but for now just understand that there are many many industries out there, and they control not only what we eat, but how we think. At the end of the day, even though they should know better and should be regulated much more honestly, it’s not totally their fault. It’s our fault. We need to know better. We need to look out for ourselves.

Does it make you angry to hear that you’re not as protected as you thought? It should.

Does it piss you off to know that many of the decision makers in the government have ties to these industries, and that time and time again, whether decisions are being made or results of studies are being reported, that those people making decisions or conducting studies have long standing relationships with these industries and are completely unable to make unbiased, honest decisions for the American people? It should.

I’m not trying to make you paranoid. I’m not trying to convince you of conspiracy theories. But look into it further. You’ll see.

There is absolutely no substitute for the logic and instincts that have been given to you. Listen to your common sense. It’s the only thing that’s looking out for your well-being.

http://www.aolnews.com/health/article/usda-may-be-ready-to-take-on-the-other-e-coli-in-your-beef/19647557?icid=main|main|dl1|sec1_lnk3|173654

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/justin-stoneman/post_868_b_720398.html

http://www.grist.org/article/healthy-schools-with-a-big-lump-of-sugar/

http://films.nfb.ca/monsanto/medias.php