The Big Shi(f)t

I’ve been called a tree-hugging hippy more times than I care to remember and I resent it. I love Gucci. Guess. Diesel. Armani. And nice things. I don’t have the dreaded dreads. I don’t wear homemade rainbow- spiral tie dyed tees with sandals made of grass. I believe in personal hygiene. And having at least four different designer perfumes in my wardrobe. And cutting my toenails. And using Listerine everyday. I do not have Billy-Bob teeth and my underarms are shaved EVERY DAY!

Yes. I do live in Woodstock. And, ok... in that house there be two rescued cats and two rescued dogs. I’ll admit to living in a bit of a zoo. But it’s a clean and happy zoo, and that’s ok.

I’m not vegetarian either. I have quite sharp teeth and they’re great for biting into juicy meaty goodness. And there is nothing worse than vegetarians evil-eyeing you, just as you’re about to cut into your made-to-perfection medium-rare fillet. It’s annoying, so stop it.

I’ve become an anti-corporation individual with strong beliefs about the food we eat and where it comes from. This mind-set didn’t happen overnight. It took a several hard-hitting truths from documentaries like Supersize Me, Food Inc. and The Cove – to name but a few – to really make me start questioning the evolution of the unsustainable (and clearly unethical) human diet.

Many reports will tell you the same thing: It is the consumers – not the producers – that drive the way our food is produced making us, indeed, what we eat.

What I’d like to know is when did this gigantic shift happen where society no longer cares what they eat and what they feed their families? When did genetic modification become ok? What happened to Potjiekos or Grandma’s famous shepherd’s pie made from scratch? What’s up with this hurry-and-stuff-your-face trend? When did farms turn into mass producing co-ops? And how do people who run these so called “farms” sleep at night? I wonder if they even eat the shit they produce.

When did humans become the animals?

I love the web, but there is virtually (ha-ha- get it?) no information or resources for South Africans on where to find real organic produce, where to find free-range meat and restaurants that support sustainable farming. So with a little help from my friends, finding the resources we so desperately need has become my new mission...and perhaps part-time obsession.