Vote With Your Fork!
Wondering what one action you could take that will yield maximum beneficial results to both your own life and the environment? Make the commitment to buy and eat only sustainably grown food.
Your body, family and the planet will all say "thank you." (And don't forget your psyche: healing our relationship with the food we eat each day is great ecotherapy).
If you're not sure why this is a good idea, check out the new movie Food, Inc. Supermarket and fast food fare will never look as appetizing again.
Every purchase of genuinely organic, local and/or sustainably grown food is a contribution to a grower who's doing the right thing -- and a vote against factory farming, Frankenfoods, animal torture and the pesticide companies.
Yes, you might spend a little more in some stores. But if you go to the Farmers Market and local farm stands or grow some of your own veggies (home grown tomatoes taste SOOOO much better!), you could also cut your food budget. As you're weighing the pros and cons of voting with your fork, don't forget that eating healthy may help you save a lot on medical bills and therapy costs. Also, as a taxpayer, you're saving yourself and your kids a bundle in public health and toxic cleanup expenses.
If more of us followed food expert Michael Pollan's advice to eat less but eat real food, a lot of the world's problems would be solved.
See you in the garden or at the Farmer's Market!
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I would add that eating organically can support local farms and businesses, which will be important in future years.
Good post! I would add that eating organically can really help support local farmers and local business, a necessity if we're to transition to a post peak-oil society.
It's the forkless foods that are the biggest problem--the chips, cheeseohs, candy bars, hohos, brownies, etc., that can really make you sick.
Sure, but the biggest impact you can make is to EAT LESS MEAT.The lower on the food chain, the less contaminated your food and the less carbon impact it will have. Perfect!
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Sounds like you're voting with your fork, suegar -- good for you!
If Michael Pollan and the other producers of Food Inc were serious about educating Americans' about the food system, after they made their millions in the movie theatres, they should form a non-profit corp to request grant money. With this money, they should produce millions of free copies of dvd's of Food Inc and have volunteers distribute to shoppers as they leave the supermarket.
Instead of distributing in a case, place the DVD in a cheap sleave. Each DVD would cost around 50 cents to make. Imagine if you distributed 10 million DVD's. That's 40 million americans or more watching Food Inc.
If only 10% of the viewers change their food buying habits and switch to farmers markets and local organic produce, that's still 4 million people.
I could just imagine the uproar from the Food Giants. The media would eat this up and it would be all over the local news everywhere in the U.S. Imagine millions of people having this DVD and watching from their home and sharing with their families.
Place the movie, Food Inc in the hands of ordinary americans for them to view in the privacy of their homes and watch for a real food revolution. In my opinion this is the best way to change the food system in this country. People need information. Give it to them free and a percentage will listen and act; Not all, but at least hundreds of thousands and perhaps millions.
Wake Up People!
Do Something!
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If only it were true that documentary filmmakers made millions, condor101! I agree that it would be wonderful to get the film out really widely, and I hope that actually happens. Maybe it will eventually be available, at least in part, for viewing on the internet.
You're absolutely right that we all need to wake up and act. Voting with your fork is a good place to start. That way you support the people who grow the kind of food you want to eat and the kind of food that will heal our land and waterways rather than contaminate them further.
Yes, make your choices and vote with your fork. However, the current debate is that "I am right" therefore, I want the government to force you to use the fork that I select. Put the coercion in place. However, if later a stronger lobbyist appears, they can quickly use the force to change direction 180. How about leaving the choice with people. Educate and let them choose.
Yes, what we need is a food revolution in this country. Junk foods, frankenfoods, highly processed foods (all highly subsidized by our government's support of the agro-industrial system) should be priced to reflect their true costs, including the amount of water and energy used per calorie produced, and the eventual costs on our health and the environment. Eating organically and sustainably is an investment that will yield invaluable benefits. School gardens, community gardens, and sustainable/organic farmers should be subsidized instead. Despite all the wealth in this country, too many communities can be defined as "food deserts" where the only accessible food sources for families are fast food restaurants and gas station mini-marts. Eating healthily and organically must not be a privilege of the elite, but a right for everyone.
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You're absolutely right, beans77! We need to insist that our local governments (wherever we are) make green space and food-growing room (community gardens, nearby farms, condos with patio container gardens and shared veggie gardens, etc.) available to everyone who wants to grow their own food or buy local. Just in our town we've identified many city-owned lots that could be used to grow food. Plus there's a new "food not lawns" movement (see www.sbfoodnotlawns.org for an idea of what's happening here -- lots of neighborhood exchanges popping up around town) that helps people transform water-hogging lawns into edible landscaping and veggie gardens.
If you haven't yet seen it, I highly recommend the Academy Award nominated film "The Garden," which explores the challenges of creating community gardens.
Thanks, Linda!
I'd love to get something started in Goleta!
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