What are GNOWFGLINS™?

GNOWFGLINS™ (pronounced g-NOWF-glins) are:

God’s Natural, Organic, Whole Foods, Grown Locally, In Season

While reading my explanation of each term in GNOWFGLINS™, I want you to keep in mind the main reason I believe GNOWFGLINS™ are the best foods. Yes, they are the healthiest foods, but primarily, when we eat these foods, we are honoring God with our food choices.

G - God’s

God’s foods are different than man’s foods. When judging a food in light of this issue, the key question is — Is this food as God made it or has man tweaked it? All those franken-foods — you know, the foods that are cooked up in labs, like dextrose and modified corn starch — are man’s foods. God’s foods are better — He made our bodies and designed the fuel for our bodies, therefore, what He made for us to eat is best.

N - Natural

In using the term “natural,” I am thinking of the environment in which a food is grown or raised. For a particular food, ask yourself, are the growing conditions natural or are they artificial? For instance, this is natural: chickens running around a pasture, pecking at insects and seeds, laying nutritious eggs in a clean henhouse. And this is the artificial alternative: a factory farm where chickens are crowded in with little daylight or room for movement. Another artificial: plants which are being grown hydroponically (in water). The God-designed natural environment is far preferable, where a plant is nourished, grows and flourishes in healthy soil.

O - Organic

In the food marketplace, organic plant foods are produced through farming that focuses on soil health and does not rely on chemical pesticides or fertilizers. Organic meats are produced through animal husbandry that focuses on animal health and does not rely on the use of drugs, hormones or synthetic chemicals. When I say “organic”, I am thinking of growing conditions — for plants or animals — that are full of life, not sterile due to use of pest- and weed-killing sprays. Are the animals that we eat raised in life-supporting environments? Are our plant foods grown in soil that is healthy and vibrant?

W - Whole

Whole foods — one of the catch phrases of our time, isn’t it? But what does it mean? If a food is whole, then it is not processed, broken apart, or denatured. I’ll give you a common example first — whole wheat. The wheat berry grows on its stalk in a field and dries right there. Then it is threshed and stored as grain. Now, if it is in that same whole state when one acquires it and uses it, then it is still whole wheat. If, however, the wheat berry goes to a food processing plant to be stripped, bleached and enriched on its journey to becoming flour, it is no longer whole. But I want to be clear that its becoming a flour is not what made it un-whole; the stripping, bleaching and enriching did that. Now here’s a less mainstream example — modified corn starch. This is an inexpensive filler used frequently in foods such as crackers. Modified corn starch is not whole because it was denatured along the way; it is not whole corn. If the corn kernels were merely ground into corn flour, it would still be corn. But much more than that was done in a lab and the resulting modified corn starch cannot be considered a whole food.

F - Foods

I could have put the term “foods” in with “whole” but that wouldn’t be sharing its individual importance. The opposite of true “foods” are the synthesized chemicals that we see so often in commercial food markets — artificial colors, artificial sweeteners, fillers, and preservatives. A good rule of thumb is that if you don’t know what an ingredient is or can’t pronounce it, then it is likely not a true food. And therefore, God didn’t design it for our nourishment.

GL - Grown Locally

I think this point should be obvious, but it is so important that I must include it. Local foods can be harvested and picked at their freshest — and that is when they are most nutritious. Additionally, if more people would choose locally grown foods, we could better support local farms and families, which would in turn benefit buyers with greater choices locally. Finally, the more people who increase their support of local produce, the more we would reduce the burden on fossil fuel consumption to transport these same foods from farther away.

INS - IN Season

Plants naturally thrive when grown at the right time of year. When they’re thriving, they are more nutritious. Additionally, to eat foods during their natural season means a person is not eating them out of season — preserved by freezing, drying or canning. Of those three preservation methods, canning is the least nutritious. Freezing and drying (at low temperatures) are wonderful ways to preserve a harvest and preserve an abundance of food for leaner times. But none of the preservation methods yield foods that are preferable to fresh foods. Also, it makes sense to me, logically, that seasonal foods match our differing seasonal requirements for nutrition. However, I will not try to prove this, just to suggest it as food for thought.

That’s the rundown on GNOWFGLINS™. You’ve already made the first step in being a critical shopper — learning the GNOWFGLINS™ terms. The next step is to apply the terms to the foods you buy, even going so far as to contact the food companies themselves to question them as to their growing practices.

Food conglomerates are not necessarily interested in your better health (but they can be). They are definitely interested in making a sale, though. So many of them will use terms like “natural” or “organic” (and legally, even), but don’t trust those labels to tell the whole story. For instance, there are “organic” chickens available. These chickens may be fed organic grains, yet they are cooped up and not allowed to range. So even though they are organic, technically, they are certainly not “natural” according to my definition of being raised in a natural environment.

You may have noticed something I didn’t do during my discussion of GNOWFGLINS™ — I made little attempt to prove why the alternatives to GNOWFGLINS™ are unhealthful for you. It is not my purpose to share scientific studies of why this or that food or ingredient are bad. My goal is to find out what God would want us to eat and trust that He knows best. I believe that GNOWFGLINS™ are best because they line up with God’s created natural world, shared with us in Genesis 1. I encourage you to free your own thinking in this regard. No longer do you need to feel pressure to keep up with this or that fad, this or that scientific evidence. Learn about God’s foods. Trust that God’s foods are the best for health. Then search out GNOWFGLINS™ for your eating pleasure, as a way to give Him glory.

Aim to eat GNOWFGLINS™ not out of compulsion, but in recognition of God’s superior design for our food. Remember, the GNOWFGLINS™ are goals. Ideally every food you put in your mouth would be natural, organic, whole, locally grown and in season. For most of us, this will not be possible to achieve 100% of the time. Aim to achieve it as much as possible. And do it for God’s glory!

© Copyright 2008 by Wardeh Harmon