As I sat in a cafe the other day, I over heard a conversation that left me deep in thought. A man and woman discussed the documentary Food Inc. They touched on grass fed beef and the extent to which corn is a now a commodity...
Then a curious shift happened. A school aged daughter was being tested for ADHD. The man explained that she was an artistic type. A dreamer. That she had trouble learning in the methodical style of the public school. Basically stating he knew what his child's school issues were. However they were testing her for attention problems. And they wonder if her attention problems are linked to additives, pesticides etc. in food.
This intrigued me in many ways. First as former teacher and then as a passionate student of what is happening to our food supply.
As a teacher, I was the intrigued by the parents wanting to put a name on why their child wasn't a traditional learner. Wanting it to be diagnosed and fixed. Even though in the same breath he admitted he knew she was a non-traditional learner, that this was the root of her troubles at school, and that her teacher had agreed with his assessment. But he still needs it to be an organic problem. And needs to to have a reason why she learns this way.
As a student of the growing concern over our food, I found myself silently wanting to believe what he believes - that in part, the food we eat may be causing learning/attention/behavior issues in our children.
It made me stop and think. For most arguments, you can find expert facts and expert opinions to back up each side, leaving you with a concrete reason for the opinion you form. Because it is what you want to believe. How easy it is to mold what is said to match what you need to hear And to block out the differing facts (and there are ALWAYS differing facts). It shows how powerful our mind really is.
Me, I like the idea that the artificial additives of our foods are causing all sorts of problems. And I can find an expert to back me up!
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