Connecting To Our Kids Through Our Connection With The Land

Happy Saturday Revolutionaries!

Since Spring is right around the corner, today I want to talk about where our food comes from.  When my son was diagnosed with autism, I dove head first into researching diet and nutrition and how that can affect children’s development.  I watched the film “Food, Inc.” and it basically changed my life and how I looked at food.  I highly recommend everyone watch this movie.  Gone are the days of lush green rolling hills and “Old MacDonald” on his farm.  Factory farming has become the name of the game.  A factory farm usually houses thousands of animals raised for food and treats them with hormones and antibiotics to prevent disease and maximize their growth and food output.  Animals are crowded together and forced to stand in piles of their own feces while being fed grain full of antibiotics.  The government knows this and what’s their solution?  Chlorine baths and radiation.  Those steaks that you grilled last weekend–dipped in chlorine and irradiated in order to kill the bacteria that is on the meat that the antibiotics couldn’t kill.  Is it any wonder that antibiotic resistant diseases are on the rise?  Americans are becoming fat, lazy, and apathetic due in a large part to the food that we eat.  Children are being diagnosed with asthma, ADHD, autism and developmental disorders at an alarming rate.  Unless we take a stand, it’s only going to get worse.

What does this have to do with changing the world you ask?  Well, there’s a David and Goliath fight going on right now between giant corporations who are trying to take over the food supply with genetically modified and pesticide laden food.  They’re doing their best to run small organic farms out of business and are spending big bucks in Washington to lobby Congress to create legislation for their benefit.  We need to support our farmers who are dedicated to growing healthy food by using sustainable farming that will ensure the integrity of the land for generations to come.

Here are some ways that you can help.

1.  Find your local farmers and get to know them.  A great place to start is by visiting a Farmers Market.  There is so much going on and so many different things for sale.  It’s such a boost to small business and a way to support your local community.  And it’s not just a place for buying vegetables.  Our local market has started wine tasting (organic of course!) and activities for the kids.  Many places now accept government assistance checks (food stamps, EBT, etc.).  My local market last year created a program where every dollar doubled in value to 2 dollars when using any of the government programs.

2.  Think about buying a CSA (community supported agriculture) from a local farm.  Basically, a farmer offers a certain number of “shares” to the public. Typically the share consists of a box of vegetables, but other farm products may be included. Interested consumers purchase a share and in return receive a box of seasonal produce each week throughout the farming season.  Different places offer different types of shares ranging from small to large, one season or 4 seasons.  The money from these shares go directly to the farm.  My local farm offers a program where if you volunteer to work on the farm for 4 hours once a week, they will give you a share that week for free!  They also have drop off points throughout the city and suburbs for people who can’t travel the distance to the farm.

3.  Unleash your inner farming Diva and start a garden in your backyard.  Last year I discovered the joy of square foot gardening.  No digging, no weeding, no intensive labor.  You basically just plant the seeds and remember to water and you’re good to go!  Google it and you’ll get lots of helpful hints about how to make your own.  This is a great way to teach kids the value of growing wholesome fresh food and they’ll be more willing to eat new things if they grew it themselves.

4.  Join the Occupy Our Food Supply Movement.  On February 27, more than 60 Occupy groups as well as environmental and corporate accountability organizations are joining together. From Brazil, Hungary, Ireland, Argentina, the United States and beyond, people will be reclaiming unused bank-owned lots to create community gardens; hosting seed exchanges in front of stock exchanges; labeling products on grocery store shelves that contain genetically engineered ingredients; building community alliances to support locally owned grocery stores and resist Walmart megastores; and fighting back against industrial giants Monsanto and Cargill.  Here’s a link for more information:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/willie-nelson/occupy-food_b_1299401.html

Well, my first official blog is in the books!  I hope you guys enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Peace and love,

Savage