I can't unlearn it

Has everyone seen this TED talk going around Facebook?



I don't usually watch videos from Facebook, especially ones that are 20 minutes long, but for some reason I decided to watch this.  And I'm glad I did.  It wasn't anything I didn't know, but I thought it was really good.  I highly recommend taking the time to watch it, especially if you have kids, and even more especially, if you have kids with food allergies.  The woman, Robin, talks about genetically modified foods and the effects it is having on people and children's allergies through her own experience with her kids.

I know some people think I go a little overboard when it comes to Evan and food/environment/health (in my real life, because I don't really talk about it that much on the blog).  We use cloth diapers and non-chemical disposable diapers, we buy almost everything organic that we can, we don't use synthetically scented anything (lotion, bath wash, hand soap, body soap, diaper wipes, candles, air freshener, etc.), I don't microwave anything in plastic, we don't buy any food in cans that are lined with BPA (which is every can except a few organic brands), and many other things.  Yeah, it's complicated and expensive (especially since we don't have a lot of money and organic stuff is pricey), but like the woman said in the video, you can't unlearn things.

That was my favorite line, because it's so true.  I know how horrible pesticides are and how much is in our normal food supply, I know that growth hormone and genetically modified foods haven't been tested for safety, I know how bad synthetic fragrances are and the effects of the hormones they give off, I know how much BPA is in canned food and how bad it is.  I've read studies at work, I've listened to Congressional briefings, I've read scientific journal articles.  I work at a place that sues EPA over the danger of certain pesticides.  I've heard my co-workers talk about it for years and years - and they are smart and logical people.  My boss used to say that it was recommended that all pregnant and nursing women should eat organic along with children under the age of five.  I hear about it every day and now that I know it, I can't go back.  I can't buy conventional strawberries and give them to my son knowing they are full of pesticides and are like poison to his brain.  Yeah, you can't see it and he won't drop dead right there, but it builds up along with all the other toxins in our environment.  And how could I willingly expose my son to that, knowing how bad it is?? 

Yes, sometimes I wish I could unlearn these facts, it would make everything cheaper and less confusing. And it gets stressful thinking about everything he's exposed to and what effect that is having on him.  And I don't go completely overboard - we eat out at restaurants and at other people's houses even if they don't serve organic and used canned food.  I can't control everything.  However, I can control what is in my house and so I choose to do that.  And maybe one day things will be different and food will just be food.  But I have a feeling it will only get worse and the stuff we put in our mouths will resemble food less and less.

Ok, I'll get off my soapbox now. 

**********************************
Do you buy any organic products?

What is something that you can't unlearn?