Sunday, November 8, 2009

Food Inc.

'The time has come to reclaim the stolen harvest, and celebrate the growing and giving of food as the highest gift and most revolutionary act' – Vandana Shiva~~ I watched Food Inc. last night - although I knew about the content, having read some books on the subject, seeing it again makes me more thankful for the privilege and blessing of having a garden than ever. It's through our gardens, small urban farms and organic local markets that we are able to reconnect to our food source and to the land. It's this reconnection with the land, to the Earth, that is so desperately needed-for once we realize the (sacred)interconnection between land and self, we will hopefully not be in such deep denial about the atrocities that are being committed against the environment and our fellow creatures. image from Kitchengardeners.org Kids can start growing food gardens at schools, more rooftop and city gardens, easier access to organic food for everyone. Monoculture, seed patents, and factory farms are making way for a new way of producing food that is more humane, doesn't depend on exploiting the poorest of the poor to do the dirty work, is less harsh on the environment, uses less water, and is healthier for people. This is less about "man's dominion over Nature" and more of a joyous, give and take with the creative force of life. http://www.cog.ca/ We need to support these farms and farmers, ensuring the seed that is used may be shared by all, not regulated by a chemical giant, like Monsanto, not GMO, not 'round-up ready' - allowing for diversity and alternatives to give ownership and power back to the grower, not the seed supplier. supplier.http://www.monsantowatch.org/http://truefoodnow.org/ It can not only be done, it is already happening, and this gives me hope.http://www.seeds.ca/ I wish all of us could have a garden to grow our food, even a small one - to learn the value of the miracle of seeds, growth, life cycles, compost, sun-ripened fruits,and just the sheer beauty of every single plant we cultivate and nurture. http://www.dinnergarden.org/index.html From the website, here are 10 simple things you can do to change our food system: http://www.foodincmovie.com/get-involved.php Of course, we can't always afford to buy organic, or expect to grow enough food for ourselves to never go to a supermarket, but we can at least do some of these things, some of the time. We can't always have healthy vegetarian home-cooked meals. This way of thinking and being is not just for elitist foodie snobs - we can all make a difference. http://slowfood.ca/ Okay, I'll stop ranting now, and go out to pick some lettuce and soak some lima beans for dinner. If you've seen the movie, let me know your views! And remember, GARDENERS HAVE THE POWER! http://www.kitchengardeners.org/ image from Sprig.co.ca

1 comment:

  1. wow - I just watched Food Inc. this week, as well! Pretty powerful stuff (somehow the conveyor belt of iceberg lettuce haunts me the most...) The next day I heard a radio program on the same subject, and a caller pointed out an interesting fact: It's easy to react by becoming a vegetarian, but in fact all of those dairy products are still supporting factory farming. Any industrial scale cheese, yogurt, butter, etc.. still ends with the animals suffering in sickness and being slaughtered, otherwise there is no profit to be made.

    ReplyDelete