A Crisis of Conscience

Oh, the challenges involved when trying to improve your life! We have, for almost two years now, been trying to eat smarter. We aren't fanatics about it and we still have Blah t days, but the over all strategy is to eat better, feel better and make informed choices about what goes into our bodies. That being said, we are a family of six on a budget! Therefore, we have to choose wisely, within our grocery allowance.
I read on Pinterest about these super moms feeding their families for $60 to $100 per week. I get excited and look at the menu, but then find a lot of canned soup and pasta. Don't get me wrong. We LOVE pasta! We have cut back on how much we eat, though, because it is difficult to find a good whole grain pasta that is affordable and tastes good. Canned soups tend to have a lot of preservatives and stuff I can't pronounce or identify, which puts them on the no-no list. So, I try to take the ideas and alter them to fit our budget and life style. I've learned to fake a cream of chicken with a whole wheat based roux, or substitute with cream cheese and or sour cream. I try to use whole wheat pasta most of the time. We make all our breads, biscuits, pitas, etc. That means we have to keep whole wheat flour on hand. Which brings me to today's dilemma.
Good, preferably organic, whole wheat flour can be rather pricey. I've paid as much as $0.98/lb at poor natural food co-op. I was blessed to have a friend introduce me to Azure Standard, where I can buy in bulk for about $0.50/lb, but have to order it once a month. This had worked well, right to the holidays when I missed the deadline and had to buy locally. It seemed rather a coincidence to find a new brand of whole wheat flour at Walmart. I read the ingredients, looked it over and kept wondering what was wrong with it, because it was only $0.56/lb. I bought it and have used it for over two weeks. It tastes good in all our favorite recipes. I liked the price. I picked up the bag again, looking at the labels and fine print, and that is when it hit me! This flour is produced by ConAgra. 

I am not an expert on the subject. What I do know is just the tip of the iceberg, so bear with me. In a nutshell, a very large corporation by the name of Monsanto has basically taken over the corn and soy industry in America. They are responsible for converting the bulk of our corn and soy crops to genetically engineered crops. They are so adamant that they continue this endeavor that they have filed and won law suits against farmers who try save seed instead of using the GMO seeds. What does that have to do with anything? Well, Monsanto provides the corn and soy products for virtually every major brand of prepared food, including ConAgra. Yes, all the prepackaged foods in the grocery store, unless otherwise stated on the package, most likely contain genetically modified ingredients. Does that mean my flour is GMO? No, according to the website, it is not. However, every time I buy it, I'm voting for ConAgra, and they are knowingly putting GMO products out on the shelves. 

Now, if I haven't lost you and bored you to death, here is the question:
Is it more important to fight a long term, massive battle against a corporate Goliath, or to feed my family the best way I can, with whatever I have available at the moment?
The answer this week was my family comes first. I bought two more 5 lb bags to get me to the next Azure delivery. I have to hope that by only buying the good food from any company, will be a vote in and of itself. I have the nagging question in the back of my mind of whether I have made the wrong concession, if my conviction is weak. I don't feel less passionate about the subject of clean eating and whole foods. I have to make similar decisions when I hit the produce aisle. How much organic produce can I squeeze into our budget? I make the best choices I can, then trust God who, according to Exodus 23:25, "blessed my bread and water and removed all sickness from us."