10/24/11

Food Day


Today is Food Day - a day to promote awareness of and advocate for real food: locally and sustainably grown and raised products and equality of distribution and availability of good, healthy food for all.

There are so many reasons why support for sustainably grown and raised food from local farmers is vitally important: economic, environmental, health-related, community-building, hunger and equality/access to fresh foods, and so on... Our current system of industrial food production is entirely unsustainable, unrealistic and unjust and these problems are not contained in the agricultural system, their effects are wide ranging. You can find some great basic information on the Food Day website, and below I've listed some additional resources I've found helpful.

There is a lot to be done to change the current food system, but there are great strides and exciting things happening throughout the country and especially in our area at a local, sustainable, small farm level: from farmers markets to local food policy councils, to growing numbers of small farms to greater availability of fresh local foods in grocery stores and restaurants, and more.

So take a moment to check out Food Day's site and learn more about the issue(s), find some sources of local food close to you, and pay attention today where the food you're eating came from, and what implications that might have. Eat local and fresh if you can, and enjoy how good it tastes!

Bringing It to The Table by Wendell Berry
Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan
Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
Food Politics by Marion Nestle
Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser
Deeply Rooted by Lisa M. Hamilton (which I am about to read on a recommendation)
Food, Inc. directed by Robert Kenner
Cuyahoga Valley Countryside Conservancy


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