Eat Local
Eat locally grown, sustainably raised foods to help save
the environment and your health !
Local food is becoming an important part
of the consumer food market as consumers want to know
more about their food -- where it was grown, what
ingredients it contains, how it was packaged, and the
footprint its production left on the earth.
“By purchasing sustainable, local foods in-season, you
eliminate the environmental damage caused by shipping
foods thousands of miles, your food money goes directly
to the farmer, and your family will be able to enjoy the
health benefits of eating fresh, unprocessed fruits and
vegetables. Buying seasonal produce also provides an
exciting opportunity to try new foods and to experiment
with seasonal recipes. And it simply tastes better!
There are many good reason to
try and source more of your food from as close to you
as possible:
1. save on transport costs
2. less time spent in transit or
on shelves
3. know where it comes from and what's in it
4. less chance of it being Genetically Modified
(do you know many of the big brand cereals are made from GM maize)
Click here for info about Why GM is not a good idea in your
food
Food is energy. It takes energy to grow, harvest and
move food around, and we need to start diversifying the
food that is produced in our regions and supporting
farmers that use natural, bio-intensive farming methods
if we are to adapt to an energy constrained future.
Simply put: with current industrial agriculture methods,
we are using too much energy to produce the food energy
we need and destroying the soil and biodiversity of our
localities in the process.
Reducing consumption and starting to produce locally
is sometimes easier said than done, but this is an area
where there are plenty of resources and examples of
community groups and also lots of potential for
individuals and communities to learn and succeed at
various levels.
Local food systems provide several advantages over
conventional and global markets. Buying locally
strengthens regional economies, supports family farms,
provides delicious, "fresh-from-the-field" foods for
consumers, preserves the local landscape, and fosters a
sense of community.
A local food system is made up of many elements. It
includes the regional farmers and food
producers as well as the restaurants, retailers, and
institutions that serve food. It also includes the end
consumer of those products, because local food is
produced for local consumption. The EAT LOCAL! campaign
is designed to bring new awareness, energy and vitality
to the local food system, promoting close connections
between members of the community and those who grow
their food.
Vision & Goals
-
Expand and support local food
growers and encourage investments in local food
production capacity.
-
Increase public awareness of the
public about the health, economic, and community
value of local farms and locally-grown food.
-
Expand the market for local food
by encouraging individuals, local businesses and
institutions to increase purchases of local food.
-
Encourage citizens to buy their
food directly from farmers markets and/or become
members of a community growing program ; to patronize local
restaurants and independent stores offering locally
grown and produced food; and to seek out organic and
fair trade options.
-
Support local growers,
community growers,
restaurants, grocers, food producers, farmers
markets and co-ops with increased visibility and
sales.
Support and further develop a
vibrant and sustainable local food system in Hout
Bay and the surrounding food-shed .
-
Strengthen connections among
local farms, food producers, restaurants, caterers,
institutions, and the public.
You've heard of the omnivore,
the carnivore, and the herbivore. Now there's another term
to add to your dietary vocabulary: locavore. The locavore
could follow the diet of any of the above options, with one
caveat: locavores only eat foods that are grown, processed
and produced within 100 miles of their home.
BUY FRESH
BUY
LOCAL
The locavore diet isn't a new
weight loss trend. It's a way of eating that supports
sustainable environments and economies. When you support
local farms, you take part in keeping local economies viable
and thriving. Since most food travels an average of many
hundreds of kms to reach you, local food has less of an
impact on our environment. And by selecting foods that come
from the region you live in, you get the freshest,
healthiest, and most flavourful products of the season.
There
probably isn’t a single issue of sustainability and health
that consistently strikes as passionate a chord as the
production, distribution and preparation of food. It makes
sense—what we take into our bodies is a very tangible part
of our constitution; if we truly are what we eat, than what
we choose to eat sends a powerful message about our
relationship with the world.
Neighbourhood gardens, cooking classes in
schools and community centres, and the promotion of local
and co-operative markets are the kinds of projects that will
build community; revitalize regional economies; and
encourage stable, healthy families.
The renewal of culinary culture should not be
left to activists, environmentalists, and government
bureaucrats; a bright green future in
cludes everyone. We
need to share ideas and spark meaningful discussion between
folks who don’t always see eye-to-eye—or
who assume they don’t.
So how do we get people
talking over the fence on other issues of sustainability?
Since food is our strongest bond to the earth and each
other, leaving our yards entirely to work in a community
garden is a potent way to start.
If you are REALLY serious about your health
and having as little impact as possible on
the
planet and helping to change things for the better - here's
a list of things that must go
-
nicotine
-
alcohol
-
animal flesh
-
dairy
-
gluten
-
sugar
-
gm foods
-
processed foods
-
fast foods
What's left you say?
Wholesome, delicious organic fruit, veggies, seeds and nuts,
when prepared creatively can absolutely delight the palette,
shed excess weight, heal most diseases, and provide loads of
energy.
This is Raw Vegan Lasagna
no kidding !
By making a stand and NOT
BUYING these items, you exercise one of the most powerful
forces we have - collective consumerism.
If we dont buy them - they'll
stop making them and their production will stop
ruining the planet and out health !!
Whether you’re
shopping at a supermarket or a farmer’s market, here are the
signs of a high-quality, healthy food:
1. It’s grown without
pesticides and chemical fertilizers
(organic foods fit this description, but so do some
non-organic foods)
2. It’s not genetically modified
3. It contains no added growth hormones, antibiotics, or
other drugs
4. It does not contain artificial anything, nor any
preservatives
5. It is fresh (if you have to choose between wilted
organic produce or fresh
conventional produce, the latter may be the better option)
6. It did not come from a
factory farm
7. It is grown with the laws of nature in mind (meaning
animals are fed their
native diets, not a mix of grains and animal byproducts, and
have free-range
access to the outdoors)
8. It is grown in a sustainable way (using minimal
amounts of water, protecting t
the soil from burnout, and turning animal wastes into natural
fertilizers
instead of environmental pollutants)
If the food meets these criteria, it is most likely a good
choice, regardless of whether it’s labelled local or
organic.
How to stay healthy and
live genuine lives in a world where everything is
increasingly stacked against us.
Today's commercially grown produce comes from soils depleted
of the minerals and nutrients so necessary to keep us
healthy in our polluted and stressful environment. Plants
grown in depleted soils are less healthy and able to resist
attack by pests, so the use of pesticides is more prevalent
than ever. Today's big food corporations choose the
cheapest, most effective pesticides, not the ones that are
least toxic to humans and other life forms. Along with
pesticide residues, our produce contains residual amounts of
soil depleting synthetic chemical fertilizers which are
toxic to our livers.
Rising fuel prices are estimated to increase wholesale food
prices by 30 percent in the coming months. We wonder how we
will be able to continue buying quality foods to keep us
healthy. Many fruits and vegetables are on the road for
hundreds of kms, before they reach the supermarkets. Produce
is picked without having a chance to ripen so it can
withstand the long trip to market. During this process, even
more of the nutrients are lost. When it finally reaches the
supermarket, produce can sit in cold storage for a week
before being put out for sale.
We want to have access to health promoting fruits and
vegetables during the winter months without them having to
be flown in from other parts of the world. And we are told
that many commercially canned products contains carcinogenic
and toxic bisphenol-A.
We're also realizing that our children are not really
learning what is important in life. We yearn for projects
and activities that will bring our families together.
We are stressed out and overworked trying to get the money
to buy all the stuff that corporations have decided we must
have. Our homes are filled, but our bank accounts are empty.
We are so busy that we seldom see our family as a whole or
do activities in which the whole family participates. It's
time to say 'no' to the big corporate food sellers and big
oil. It's time to reach inside ourselves again and
rediscover that kernel of resourcefulness. It is still
there.
Home veggie gardens and the new age
A veggie garden at home is a manifestation of new thinking,
new vision and an explosion of new understanding. We not
only live in this world but we help create it. We can choose
to participate in unity and renewal, and to become part of
the higher forms of consciousness. We are at the point now
where evolution can become conscious of itself.
We can choose to participate in a new age of creative
intelligence and love. This new age is like a rising tide
which may wash away those who seek to go on working in
accordance with that old law of every man for himself. It is
a movement just beginning like the emergence of a tiny shoot
in spring. You can tear out that shoot or stomp on it, but
there is no way that you can hold back the coming of spring.
We have had enough of the old ways of thinking, and we are
here to take back control of our lives, our health, our
resources, and our futures. We are resisting the control of
destructive corporate forces. We are developing an energy
and enthusiasm that characterizes new values, new ways of
living, new survival techniques, and new experiences.
A garden that symbolizes our part in this evolution is a
challenge and a source of immense hope. If a family or group
is able to achieve this, others will follow and the movement
will grow. In a time of famine for many and threatened
famine for many others, the veggie garden is an indication
of a new way the earth can be made more fruitful. We must
have a vision.
We realize with horror what the human race in its greed and
arrogance is doing to the earth, and the life forms on it.
Our ignorance of the realities of nature has led us to
follow all sorts of practices which hurt and alienate. We
are at the juncture where we may either come to be parasites
upon the planet, or we may come to a new enlightenment. The
choice is ours.
A garden can be our symbol of the victory of the decision to
be part of the new enlightenment. It can provide us with a
way to re-establish a positive relationship with nature as
we are called on to love life-giving plants, to cherish and
nurture them, to talk to them, and thank them for all their
work for us. When we have reached out to do this, we are
breaking down barriers within our minds, and our resistance
to this new age will dissolve. We are readying ourselves to
go forth openly toward nature with a loving attitude.
Remember, this is not somebody's thought out plan. It is a
phenomenon and an expression of the living energies for
renewal that are sweeping through our society. This is a
creative energy to renew in many facets, the garden being
just one of them. The garden is an expression of a community
filled with energy, enthusiasm and love for all life.
A garden teaches us the secrets of creation in various ways.
Once we make the decision to pull back from the getting and
spending lifestyle, we learn the power within us to create
our world by the choices we make. We realize that we no
longer have to be controlled by the power of events, but
that by our power of thought, we control events. We can
bring about what is in our thoughts.
When this is our direction we will have the confidence to
succeed in the garden. Gardening is about the relationship
we have with the plants. When we love and cherish them, they
will return the favour. Plants are like our children. A
child who is loved thrives no matter what the conditions
are, but a child who has no love dies. Gardening is never
about technique or the colour of your thumb. It is about
what is in your heart and spirit. Adapted from an article at
www.naturalnews.com
Why Should You Care if Your Produce is GM?
Genetically modified foods are one of the largest threats
against the
very sustainability of the human race.
Not only are they threatening to contaminate non-GM crops,
even those that are
labeled organic, so that one day soon ALL crops may be
laced with GM elements, but their health risks are only
beginning to be uncovered.
And what’s been revealed so far is enough to raise some
major red flags.
Just last year, a long-term feeding study commissioned by
the Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety confirmed GM
corn seriously affects reproductive health in mice. The
results were so worrisome that GM opponents called for an
immediate ban of all GM foods and GM crops in order to
protect the health of humankind and the fertility of women
around the world.
So far, at least 65 serious health risks related to GM foods
have been documented by
GM expert Jeffrey Smith. Among them:
• Offspring of rats fed
GM soy showed a five-fold increase in mortality, lower
birth weights, and the inability to reproduce
• Male mice fed GM soy had damaged young sperm cells
• The embryo offspring of GM soy-fed mice had altered
DNA functioning
• Several US farmers reported sterility or fertility
problems among pigs and cows fed GM corn varieties
• Investigators in India have documented fertility
problems, abortions, premature births, and other serious
health issues, including deaths, among buffaloes fed GM
cottonseed products
Further, GM foods are known
to be highly allergenic, and according to Smith’s research,
between 1994 and 2001 -- the same time that GMO’s flooded
the market -- food related illnesses DOUBLED.
There is also compelling evidence available that
GM potatoes may cause cancer in rats. This research,
conducted by
Dr. Arpad Pusztai, was suppressed for nearly 10 years
because industry backers were questioning his results.
Well, in 2007 a Russian study confirmed the link, and Dr.
Pusztai was, in short order, suspended from his job, ordered
to hand over all his data, and threatened with legal action
if he spoke to anyone on the subject.
As time goes on, it is becoming abundantly clear that the
safety of GM foods has never been proven. And if you choose
to eat them, you are joining one of the largest, most
unethical experiments of all time: seeing what happens when
people eat GM foods for a lifetime.
In the United States, introducing GM foods into our diet was
done quietly and without the mandatory labeling that is
required in most other industrialized countries. Without
knowing what impact GM foods might have on human health, or
letting people know which foods contain GM ingredients, the
biotech industry is gambling with your health for their
profit.
Which Foods are Most Likely to be Genetically Modified … and
How Can You Avoid Them?
Nearly all of these foods are GM so it is wise to avoid them
• Soy
• Corn
• Cottonseed
• Canola
It would also be wise to
limit products made from these ingredients, such as
vegetable oils, maltodextrin and high-fructose corn syrup.
In fact, because corn and soy are so widely used in
processed foods, at least 70 percent of the processed foods
at your supermarket contain GM ingredients.
That’s seven out of every 10 products!
Just another strong reason to avoid eating processed foods.
Other GMO products include:
• Some varieties of
zucchini, crookneck squash, and papayas from Hawaii
• Milk containing rbGH
• Rennet (containing genetically modified enzymes) used
to make hard cheeses
• Aspartame (NutraSweet)
Avoiding all of the products listed above, unless they are
certified organic, is one way to cut down on your intake of
GM foods. Buying products that are certified organic or that
say non-GMO are two other ways to limit your family‘s risk
from GM foods, as organic foods are not allowed to contain
GM ingredients.
And remember, anytime you’re buying produce a five-digit
number beginning with 8 on the product sticker means it's
GM. If you are shopping at a farmer’s market or food coop
that does not have stickers on the produce, ask the farmer
directly whether or not it’s GM.
Particularly in the United States, where GM products are not
required to be labeled, it can be difficult to eat a GM-free
diet. But I feel strongly that it is one of the more
important things you can do for your health, and to help
protect the environment.
You
Can Vote With Your Purse
If more of us begin to refuse GM foods, food manufacturers
will have no choice but to listen. If you’re new to this
topic or haven’t yet taken the time to
watch The Future of Food, please do so now. It is
perhaps one of the most important videos on this subject,
and one that everyone in the world should watch and pass on
to others.
