The food fight in this country is starting to heat up and
really get interesting. One of the reasons I am so fascinated by our food
system is because it brings together so many things that I am passionate about:
food, animal welfare, politics, policy, government regulation, and economics.
All these seemingly disparate ingredients come together to create this
compelling, dramatic, sensational, gritty, and challenging thing called, food
production in America. Seriously, truth is stranger and more interesting than
fiction, and if food production were a tv show, it would be like watching
Desperate Housewives, the entire Food Network, Law & Order, Tele Novelas,
the Animal Planet, and Mad Men all rolled into one!
Unfortunately, it is not a tv show. It is far more relevant
than mere entertainment and, unfortunately, it garners far less attention from
the general public. As you may well imagine, I do a lot of reading on the
subject of food production here in America and follow the relevant news and
legislation closely. There has been a lot of food related matters in the news
lately, even the mainstream news has gotten in on the action. Some of the news
has been encouraging, like the growing public demand in California to require
labeling when food products contain genetically altered organisms; and the
growing number of public schools that are incorporating fresh produce, on
campus gardens, and nutritional education into the school lunch programs. And
then there is the bad news: Michigan Department of Natural Resources conducting
armed raids on small scale pig farms which have recently been declared in
violation of Michigan law for breeding “feral” pigs (which seems to be defined
as any pig not part of a huge industrial hog farming operation); and Georgia
lawmakers neglecting to pass legislation that would protect the right of every
Georgia citizen to produce food for their own consumption.
Sometimes, I begin to feel overwhelmed by the magnitude of
change that is needed and the amount of misinformation and apathy that needs to
be overcome in order for meaningful change to be achieved in our food system.
So, I am taking this moment to remind myself, and those of you reading this
blog, that change has to begin somewhere and has to begin sometime. I know
that’s hardly an earth-shattering revelation, but it does give us the freedom
to do SOMETHING, even if we can’t do EVERYTHING.
I don’t know about you, but knowing that any change, even a
small one, is still a step in the right direction is encouraging. So, with that
in mind, I am more determined than ever to make the small changes that I’m
capable of making now, with the goal of seeing greater change in the future.
Here are a few simple ways that you can make changes in your own daily life
that can ultimately lead to much greater change in the future for you, your
family, your community, and your country for generations to come.
1.
Reduce or eliminate factory-farmed meat from
your diet. If the thought of giving up factory-farmed meat entirely is too
daunting of a task to even consider, consider these alternatives instead:
a.
Give up meat for one or two days a week (for
tips and further information, check out www.meatlessmondays.com)
b.
Find a local source for at least one category of
meat (beef, pork, or chicken). (www.eatwild.com
is a great source for finding local providers of grass fed / free-range /
organic meat)
2.
Find a local source for produce. It is true that
farmer’s markets will charge more than a grocery store for their products, but it
is also true that the quality will more than make up for it. But here are some tips for making the
best of your extra expenditures.
a.
Choose to purchase produce from your local
organic farmer that makes the Dirty Dozen list (those fruits and vegetables
which contain the highest level of pesticides and toxins when produced in
“conventional” methods). If you don’t have a local farmer’s market, choose
organic options from your grocery store when possible.
i. Apples
ii. Celery
iii. Strawberries
iv. Peaches
v. Spinach
vi. Necatarines
vii. Grapes
viii.
Sweet Bell Peppers
ix. Potatoes
x. Blueberries
xi. Lettuce
xii. Kale
/ Collard Greens
b.
Better yet, choose one or two items from the
list above and grow them yourself! Bell Peppers, Strawberries, and even Potatoes
can be grown in containers, if your space is limited. If you’ve never gardened
before, just pick one plant, do some research, and give it a try!
c.
Purchase items that are in season and in
abundance.
3.
Most importantly, STAY INFORMED! Learn about the
companies and businesses that control your food supply, learn about the laws
and agencies that exist to regulate those businesses, find out if they are
working to protect your interests… and if NOT… why? And never forget that
consumers hold the power, not corporations! If you doubt the veracity of that
statement, just ask Cambell’s, which recently revamped production processes in
order to satisfy consumer demand to remove BPA from the canning process.
Change is never easy. But life is
change. The status quo has never solved any problems or revolutionized anyone’s
life. And while ignorance may be bliss, blissful ignorance can lead to
oblivion. This is an important
time in our history. We are at a unique point when a light is being shined on
corporate greed and mishandling of public trust, not only in financial markets,
but in our food markets as well. We must act during this time, while there is
still some transparency and while these corporations are still reeling from the
initial shock of public outcry over practices that have long been safely hidden
and ignored behind closed doors. Big Agriculture is working overtime right now
to bring about legislation that will keep whistle-blowers out of their operations,
shut down small independent farmers, keep consumers in the dark, and maintain
the status quo. We need to be working just as hard to ensure that our food
system remains open to public scrutiny, is held to high standards of safety,
becomes more accountable and accommodating to consumers, and is properly
regulated by those who SHOULD be acting on behalf of the people (not the
corporations they are there to oversee).
