Food is the new target for social change among college students. The Real Food Challenge, a movement now taking place in colleges all across the country, promises to be a prime catalyst for bringing sustainably produced food not only on to campuses but into the general society as well.
If you’ve seen the documentaries Food, Inc. or Fresh, you witnessed what happens on factory farms before cattle, pigs and chickens make it to your local supermarket. But there are new alternatives for non-vegetarians who don’t want to participate in a system of hormones, antibiotics and animal cruelty. The Country Natural Beef Association is a good example.
When documentary filmmaker ana Sofia joanes set out to make the film Fresh, her motivation wasn’t one of creating an exposé of the horrors of the industrial food system—although touching on such issues could hardly be avoided; it was more a message of hope. “I feel that we’re getting so much negative information and the problems that we’re facing—the food crisis, the oil crisis, the water crisis, war, famine and others”—are so complicated and appear to be outside the reach of our individual actions.”
For the first time ever, “remineralization” has landed on the world stage for consideration—at the United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP15. This method of creating fertility by returning mineral content to depleted soils is attracting significant interest for its huge potential to restore forests and agricultural areas throughout the world and was included as one of 40 environmental technologies on a multimedia DVD given to each of the UN delegates at the conference.
A worldwide movement has been evolving over the last 30 years toward locally and sustainably grown food. Healthy food can be more expensive, however, which means that many lower-income families continue to rely on empty calories and consumables that may well lead their children to early onset diabetes and other disorders. As a solution, the city of Austin, Texas, has become home to a program that could be a model for all communities to follow.
It’s the kind of thing that many of us keep hoping will happen: A device funded by the government for the purpose of forwarding the war machine becomes repurposed for a totally peaceful function that contributes to the survival of all. For the trillions that have been spent on destruction, it’s nice to know that at least a fraction of this money eventually led to something that benefits civilization.
Thanks to some hardy sustainable-food crusaders, several growing movements, a proliferation of farmers’ markets and an ease of communication, courtesy of the Internet, healthy eating has now gotten at least a little easier. It’s also made far simpler by folks such as Jennifer Spaide and her GreenChic website.
We’ve all been through it, and millions do every day: rush out the door to be at work on time, get on the expressway—and sit. It’s not like the time spent sitting in traffic is productive; hands on the wheel, foot alternating between the gas and the brake, attention out on the road ahead. Some cheat and actually check their e-mail, send and receive text messages and make business calls during this time.
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