It was only a few decades ago when our government actually encouraged us to grow gardens to feed ourselves. Now, they encourage us to buy ever more cheap plastic foreign-made crap at Wal Mart, instead.
From 'sea to shining sea', the Big Boxes and their fellow travelers have wreaked havoc on our landscape and our communities. Over the past few decades, our never-ending desire to save 14 cents on a hairdryer has in the long run cost us Main Street. But as it becomes apparent that the cheap oil era is at its end, even Dick Cheney must be starting to realize that "the American way of life" is absolutely 'negotiable'.
Let's talk about rebuilding our food system and the places that we live below the jump...
Small locally-owned independent businesses of all kinds are the backbone of vibrant communities. Despite the 'best efforts' of developers and 'planners' over the past 50 years or so, it's pretty obvious that a WalMart, a McDonald's, a 7-11, a national bank and 13 gas stations loosely connected by a connector road or two to a few haphazardly strewn about 'housing' developments and an 'office park' 13 miles away does not equal a community. Rather, these places infantilize and create dependency in children and teenagers for their lack of mobility, make it impossible for seniors and the poor lacking access to reliable transportation to be able to regularly eat fresh and healthy foods, and take a tremendous toll on families in terms of opportunity costs of time and money spent commuting and 'upkeep' on 2, 3 or more private automobiles.
I can go on about this for days, but I want to focus here on the one single most immediate thing that can directly improve our health and daily lives; and just might ensure our very survival one day soon.
The importance of strong and reliable local food systems
Over the last few years the myriad problems of our industrial food system have been brought to light in a way probably not seen since Upton Sinclair wrote about Chicago's meatpacking industry, and John Steinbeck wrote about corporate farming in California. People are paying attention now, especially in the midst of another breathless season of screeching 'newsmedia' alarms about poisonous contaminated agribiz products. What they don't suggest though, is that it's still perfectly safe to buy tomatoes in season from local producers.
I just ate a simple tomato and egg sandwich for lunch - a sliced brandywine grown without chemicals that I just bought from a local farmer at the farmers market a few hours ago, on a fresh whole wheat pita from Serious Bread right here in Portland from that same market, a chopped hard-boiled pastured egg from Square Peg Farm and a little bit of salt and mayonnaise. Will that tomato kill me? No. But I wouldn't be so sure about one of those 'ridiculously robust' ones from the Safeway a few blocks from my apartment - the ones that were grown in poisoned soil and doused with chemicals, picked green and rock-hard, gassed and shipped 1800 miles. I'm sure they also have the 'taste' to match that process, as well. I wouldn't personally know though, since I wouldn't eat them even with my worst enemy's mouth...
The rise of farmers markets and other independent establishments outside of the corporate food system across the country is a great thing, and is wonderful news for those who are able to take advantage of it. But unfortunately for too many people these days, well, as Mark Winne says -
The Poor Get Diabetes; The Rich Get Local and Organic
Urban Farming
The urban gardening movement is growing all over the country, and in places like Detroit and Philadelphia it's making a huge difference in people's lives. For the first time in a long time, people in these inner-city neighborhoods have access to fresh whole foods.
Mill Creek Urban Farm in West Philadelphia -
MCF is committed to:
* Improving consumer access to nutritious foods and building food security;
* Developing a greater sense of community within the Mill Creek neighborhood;
* Educating local school groups and the greater Philadelphia community about urban agriculture, natural resource management and sustainable living;
* Managing stormwater run-off and utilizing rainwater as a resource for food production.
Greensgrow Farms in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia runs "The Philadelphia Project" -
Hydroponics, Honey From the Hood, vermi-composting, bio diesel, school tours, on farm lectures, organic gardening workshops, green roofs, The Neighborhood Urban Agriculture Coalition (NUAC) community gardens and senior markets.
A laundry list of crazy ideas? Absolutely.
And also a partial list of programs and visions (including our washing machine turned salad spinner) we have been busy running through The Philadelphia Project's rinse cycle.
An article in Philly.com focusing on the current goings-on there -
The square-block property, despite being ringed by a barbed-wire fence, brings a welcoming touch of green to this neighborhood of rowhouses, chain-store strip malls and fast-food joints.
Behind the fence are neat rows of high-yield hydroponic vegetable and lettuce plants, and a slightly ragtag collection of greenhouses and sheds full of all kinds of flowering annuals, perennials and evergreens. There's also a small market that's open on Thursdays and Saturdays to sell whatever's in season.
This week's racks should be overflowing with blueberries, raspberries and peaches, as well as beets, zucchini and yellow squash. Also available are milk, cheese and dairy products, along with the farm's own Honey From the Hood, produced by its resident bee colony.
Detroit's Capuchin Soup Kitchen runs Earthworks Urban Farm in the city -
Earthworks works to restore our connection to the environment and community in keeping with the tradition of our spiritual patron, St. Francis. It is a working study in social justice, as well as in being more connected to the food we eat. This project relies on the gracious donations from supports of the Capuchin Soup Kitchen and of time from volunteers and materials from sponsors. Neighbors and friends of all ages, incomes and faiths join us in our work.
Community groups making use of Detroit's many vacant lots -
"Given the vast number of vacant lots in Detroit, we’re creating a model of how we can utilize that space...We’re trying to create greater access to fresh produce, generate income and create jobs and to change the community’s vision of what a city is and how space is used in a city. I don’t think we’re going to feed Detroit on vacant lots but we can grow 10 to 25 percent of the food and that’s a significant impact." 10-25% is nothing to shake a stick at! Given the devastatingly low access to fresh food Detroiters are witnessing now, 10-25% is a major improvement that will help to increase the health of Detroit residents. - MetroTimes
Food banks and other organizations are also starting to play a new role these days.
In an age where food banks are no longer seeing the donations from food companies that they used to, since the food that was formerly donated is now being sold at dollar-discount stores instead; many people have realized that the time has come for these organizations to expand beyond simply 'managing poverty', and move on to policy advocacy and educating the communities that they serve whenever possible.
An organization I regularly volunteer for, Oregon Food Bank, is a recognized leader on this -
Oregon Food Bank offers hands-on cooking and nutrition education classes to low-income community members. Classes challenge students to reconsider food preferences and habits. Participants learn cooking methods, nutrition, food safety, practical shopping and meal planning -- skills that increase food security and quality of life. The program offers a six-week class series and single-session workshops
There's also Austin's Sustainable Food Center, which OC also wrote about on her excellent new blog last night -
Founded in 1993 with roots dating back over 30 years as Austin Community Gardens, SFC is involved in every step of our local Food System from seed to table. We teach sustainable food gardening practices to children and adults; organize markets for locally-grown produce in urban areas accessible to low-income residents; donate produce to area food pantries, and train individuals and institutions to prepare healthy and affordable meals.
So...
I really can't even begin to stress how important it is that we begin to step outside the industrial food system and take steps to ensure that we'll be able to feed ourselves should the worst come to pass. Even if us 'doomsdayers' are wrong, we'll still be eating better and healthier than ever before, and we'll build relationships with those in our community who feed us.
It's a proven folly in so many ways to rely upon the industrial system, as many recent news items have made clear. I'd say that this Independence Day weekend is as good a time as any to declare our independence from that system.