How connected do you feel to the soil that your food came from? Do you know what region, country, or state that your food is from? Are you familiar with the farmer? Have you seen the land with your own two eyes?
It is my opinion that a lot of agriculture is in a sorry state. Most of us are very disconnected from our food and the entire growing process because, by and large, food production is mostly industrialized in this country. Moreover, we are exporting not only our food, but also our agricultural practices to numerous places around the world. This is a tragedy for our environment, our communities, and ourselves.
Looking at this situation through a nutritional lens, there are several concerns that arise from this situation. First, and perhaps most obviously, where is the diversity in foods? Where are the vegetables? How can we “eat the rainbow” (a common recommendation by nutritionist, meaning to eat colorful whole foods – NOT Lucky Charms), if the only colors in our kitchens are the tannish-browns of wheat, corn, soy, and boxed foods? We are not designed to be sustained on primarily these crops; yet sadly, many Americans do just that, in part because of how cheap and widely available they are, and perhaps also because of a lack of education on how excessive amounts of these foods are harmful to our health. There is a myth running rampant in this country that it costs a fortune to eat healthy. I can tell you from personal experience (both my husband and I are grad students and we live on a very tight budget) that eating well does not have to cost a fortune, you just have to get a little creative. CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture) are wonderful options, which usually provide a plethora of fresh vegetables each week at a very reasonable cost. Every friday our veggie box is delivered a short distance from our house, filled with pounds of fresh, local, and organic produce. By getting it, we’re supporting small-scale local farms, whose agriculture practices do not pump chemicals in the soil (which find their way into my drinking water), do include crop diversity, and we’re saving money!
The second concern is that in the current model, the Earth’s soil is getting severely depleted. Fewer nutrients in the soil mean few nutrients in our food; fewer nutrients in our food leads to malnourishment which is associated with countless health concerns. Soil depletion has arisen from poor farming practices which over-exert the land. This includes over farming which doesn’t give the land a recuperation time, and/or without much crop rotation to re-enrich the soil. For example, fava bean plants are nitrogen fixers which is a wonderful way to enrich soil during the winter and make it more fertile for spring planting, thus decreasing/eliminating your need for synthetic fertilizers. Many “sustainable” farmers are engaging in practices, such as these, which aim to keep the soil healthy, avoid petrochemicals, and yield nutrient rich produce as a result.
Please do not underestimate the power in your food choices. Every food choice is a political choice. Step up to your plate and vote with your fork!
