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When I first started college, I decided that I would try to be more conscious about what I ate. My grandfather only ate food if he knew where it came from, and to me, it seemed like a good policy to follow. Of course, I couldn't hunt for my own meat or grow my own vegetables like he had, at least partly because I lived in an apartment complex in Minneapolis, so I tried shopping for organic and local food instead.

Baby steps.

Because I'm Muslim, I considered eating meat that was dhabiha/halal, or slaughtered in a prescribed way. There are some "ethnic" grocery stores in the area that sell this meat, so for a while, I also only ate meat that I cooked at home. However, it didn't seem like a "good Muslim" thing to do to eat meat if I didn't know how the animals were treated before they were killed, so I stopped eating meat entirely.

It was nice, while it lasted. I felt good about my decisions and the way I ate, even if I made no difference on any level with my food politics. But my financial situation since then has changed a LOT. I can't afford to even think about those specialty grocery stores anymore, and buying organic is a luxury I can't afford. I still don't eat (much) meat, but it's for a different reason entirely- I can't justify the expense.

I usually check out the sales before I go to the grocery store, and then I pick up the bare essentials... enough to facilitate eating somewhat "healthy" meals, but certainly not the kind of local or organic foods that some of my friends eat. I buy the cheapest loaf of bread, the vegetables that are on sale, and whatever else I can fit into my budget.

In the end, my desire to eat beat out my desire to make "ethical" choices. One of the posts suggested that it was important to pay the full cost of food, and while I agree on a theoretical level, it's not something I'm willing to commit to.

If my financial situation becomes better, I'll have to reevaluate what I eat. But for now, I'm pretty much guilt-free-- I eat to survive.