Hungry for Connections

Just back from Vermont where I presented two workshops on word-working and critical thinking at Amanda Archibald's "Food Dialogs" event. Her gatherings move our discussion about food and health way beyond the Pyramid. Plus, the fresh, local food (including maple syrup and organic dairy) nourished body and soul.

Archibald's Field to Plate events include explorations of ourselves and surroundings, and reveal the deep hunger we share to reconnect to our food, natural environment and people. Oh, and did I mention the additional pleasures of kitchen conversations over fresh, local food?

Wild Crafter Nova Kim describes "wild" food as the "original organic." She says many of us "suffer under illusions" about our planet and food system -- that it's safe, secure and sustainable, for example.

Connecticut farmer and dietitian, Jean Crum Jones, sees small family farmers as "the ants among the elephants."
She explains that "quarterly profits do not equal sustainability," and implores us to join efforts to preserve farmland. Especially important is the land located at the "urban edge" which can most sustainably feed urban populations.
"It shouldn't be so hard," Jones says, to get healthy food to hungry people.

Think critically and eat well,
Melinda

Everything's Connected

Thomas Jefferson said: "Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom."

But how can we have eternal vigilance without a strong, independent press?
According to the Pew Research Center for People and the Press, Americans seem not to realize the importance of the press in keeping those in power accountable. However, David Simon, former Baltimore Sun journalist, explains the relationship between our democracy and a strong press at a recent meeting of the National Press Club. Simon says unpaid bloggers and citizen journalists cannot fill the void. We must find a way to fund the rigorous type of local reporting that professional journalists deliver.

The demise of our press means citizens will be less likely to learn about revolving doors and financially-influenced government that affect our food system at the core.

Lots of food for thought.
Think critically and eat well,
Melinda

It's NOT the Onion. It's Mid-America Crop Life

In response to Mrs. Obama's organic garden on the White House lawn, the Mid-America Crop Life Association wrote her a letter reminding her of the importance of "crop protection technologies" (READ: pesticides). Yet real crop protection depends on the preservation of biodiversity. Mono-cropping and genetically engineered seed that depends on costly industrial agricultural chemicals hurts small family farmers, harms pollinators, and makes us all more vulnerable to famine. As citizens, it's our responsibility to be involved in policy. Let USDA's Tom Vilsack know that all children deserve organic food in their public schools, and we want genetically modified foods labeled, so that we can better avoid them and track their affects on public health. We have a right to know.
Learn more about pesticides: Read Will Allen's "The War on Bugs," and understand the history and consequences of genetically engineered seed in Claire Hope Cummings' "Uncertain Peril: Genetic Engineering and the Future of Seeds." And don't miss these two great new documentaries: FRESH, and Food Inc.
Think critically and eat WELL.
Melinda