Thursday, January 14, 2010

What is an ethical diet?

I have a problem.

Dieting isn’t easy. Seemly millions of options exist to help would be dieters lose weight. It’s confusing.

I also want to try to eat “ethically.” But even defining what “ethical eating” is difficult. Here’s what I know… I want to source my food from local farmers. I want to know (and be able to see if I wish) how the animals I eat are treated. I want to eat organic. I want to eat seasonally.

Do I have choose between losing weight or learning to eat ethically? Much of our ‘diet culture’ tell us to focus primarily on low-fat/low-calorie consumption with little attention to food sources. Meanwhile, most local foodies will tell you that simply eating local will make you healthier, slimmer, and irresistable to potential mates simply by being fresh and organic. Neither of these really work for me. I’ve been trying to eat local for about a year now, and that alone really hasn’t been enough to get the scale moving.

Eating local requires a lot of research along with some sacrifices (asparagus in the winter, anyone?) and regular diets don’t care how my chicken was raised or if my fish was sustainably harvested from the sea. What’s an aspiring ethical eater to do?

I’ve created this blog to share what happens when you try to combine weight loss with ethical eating. Further, I’ll spend time talking about what defines “ethical eating” and trying to look at different options and opinions. I’ll be using the Weight Watchers program* as my diet foundation. I’ve used WW in the past with some success and I like the freedom their format it affords. I hope you’ll find the information here relevant, entertaining, and worthwhile. I look forward to sharing with you.

*I am in no way officially affiliated with Weight Watchers other than being a customer.