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A worldwide movement has been evolving over the last 30 years toward locally and sustainably grown food. It is a win-win situation: the crops are healthier; the soil is preserved so that it can continue to be farmed; this type of agriculture is no longer a source of pollution; and last, but not least, the resultant produce is tastier and more nutritious than its “conventionally grown” counterparts.
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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.
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Twenty years ago, living a healthy, sustainable life was not a simple matter. One had to seek out books on the subject and hope they were helpful. Then it was a matter of finding places where organic and sustainably grown food was available; hopefully it wasn’t in the next county or the next state. On top of all that, you had to learn the best methods of cooking these new foods! Needless to say, it took a real pioneer spirit to embark on such an endeavor.
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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. But strict laws are catching up with these folks and soon it will be a thing of the past—and again, we will just sit.
If you happen to read certain milk cartons, you might find “Cows. (We just love ’em.)” And further, “Speaking of cows, we support the goals of those audacious bovines at Cows Unite. You go, girls!” The cartons go on, “Cows Unite!” and direct citizen milk drinkers to visit www.cowsunite.org.
When you visit the website, you find three amazing live-action videos depicting a cow telling her farmer about the rebellion, a monstrous herd of cows staging a breakout from a conventional factory dairy farm, and a cow being interrogated with a lie detector by Dragnet police-types as they try to find out more about the cow rebellion.
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Here is a video clip from the important French documentary Food Beware: The French Organic Revolution.
Click here to read our article about this film.
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Learning disabilities are a common problem today and seem to be on the rise. A new article in the October 2009 issue of Behavioral and Brain Functions journal examines how diet-related factors, like synthetic food dyes, mercury contamination and mineral deficiencies, are being linked to such problems.
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In a recent interview with Organic Connections (September–October 2009), iconic chef Alice Waters discussed the vital need for every schoolchild to have a daily healthy lunch. Not only is this important for overall physical well-being, but a child needs proper nutrition in order to study and learn. With the current government provision of $1.00 per meal, real food is nearly impossible to obtain.
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For any of us old Star Trek fans, the prefix nano- might be familiar. In that case, it was applied to nanobots, extremely tiny bits of high technology that could invade a body or a computer with extreme ease due to their size. The prefix actually means “billionth”—a nanometer, for example, would be one billionth of a meter, and one inch would equal 25,400,000 of them.
The philosopher George Santayana said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” It certainly seems that we have a very short memory in America. We are constantly searching for “wonder” materials. Wall Street gets excited by them, our government throws open regulatory doors to give them free reign, and corporations can’t wait to be first to market something new. Of course this is good business for PR firms and ad agencies and it gives journalists something to write about.
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You’ve probably seen—and sometimes averted your eyes from—the overflowing trash receptacles that appear around public parks, on city streets and in amusement parks. You have perhaps also wondered how much fuel gets wasted by the diesel trucks that must come around to collect trash from these receptacles, and what might be done to reduce the plentiful foul emissions spewing from those vehicles.
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America’s love affair with cheap food has landed us in ninth place on the obesity scale out of 194 countries ranked by the World Health Organization. According to the New York Times, two-thirds of the US population is overweight.
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Here's the trailer for the documemtary film Food Fight.
Click here to see our full article on this film and its subject matter.
The headlines have lately been filled with news of the Obama administration’s proposed healthcare plan. Strongly worded opinions, both pro and con, are being volleyed from each side of the political fence. But one aspect of healthcare not being adequately addressed in the plan—as well as not mentioned in most of the pro or con arguments—is the basic American diet. How healthy can a person be when consuming chemical-laden and nutrient-deficient food with an emphasis on carbohydrates, bad fat, salt and sugar? How many healthcare billions are being spent to address health issues that have their roots in poor diet? It’s a hard number to come by, but according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, three-quarters of healthcare spending goes to treat “preventable chronic diseases.” Treatment for obesity alone runs a tab of $147 billion, and that doesn’t figure in diabetes ($116 billion) or cardiovascular disease.
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If you were to choose a place to plant your dream vegetable garden, it would probably not be in the foothills of the Grampian Mountains in Strathardle, Perthshire, Scotland. The upland site is infertile, acidic and exposed to severe weather. Around 85 percent of Scotland is classified by the European Union as a “less-favoured area” for farming, and this region, plagued by lifeless, silty soil and boulders, falls right into that category.
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“Revolution never tasted so good,” states the movie poster for a new documentary by Chris Taylor entitled Food Fight—a film that details the revolution in locally grown, sustainable food begun in California some 40 years ago and now progressing in greater strides than ever all across the nation. The film also explores the reason that the revolution had to take place at all—an industrial food system wholeheartedly bought into by the American public, much to the detriment of our collective health.
| Click here to see the Food Fight Trailer |
The documentary has already created quite an impact, receiving numerous awards including the International Documentary Association Audience Award 2008, the Environmental Award from the Santa Cruz Film Festival, and the Audience Award for the Washington, DC International Film Festival.
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Here's a video clip about the SEER Centre in Scotland and their work in remineralizing the soil and their amazing results in organic farming.
Click here to read our full article.
Imagine this: You decide you want to take a motorcycle trip across the US, to see and experience life on the highways and the byways. As part of that, you expect to encounter true taste and real down-home cooking. While it’s an exciting trip to be sure, you are severely disappointed with the eating part—and you see more disturbing related sights as well.
This is exactly what happened to Sherri Brooks Vinton, now a real-food activist and author of two books on the subject of sustainable, nutrient-dense food.
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Here's the official trailer for Food, Inc.
Click here to read our article on this documentary.
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This is the trailer for the documentary, What's on Your Plate?
Click here to see our article about this film.
It’s been said that “kids say the darnedest things.” But much of the time children can ask very profound and direct questions, making adults squirm a bit as they realize that these questions are certainly not without merit and deserve to be answered. It was this quality that Emmy-nominated documentary film producer and director Catherine Gund tapped into in creating a truly unique film called What’s on Your Plate?
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Over the last several years, much concern has been raised over the use of genetically modified crops in foods. There has been little to no published research into the effects of genetically modified foods on human health, and the government has not required labeling of products that contain genetically modified ingredients. As a result, American consumers have no way to identify genetically modified content in their foods. While 30 countries have significant restrictions or outright bans on genetically modified organisms (GMOs), the US has approved their use.
