Why Grow Food?

The past week I've been reflecting on why I undertook this project in the first place. What's so important about growing your own food when we can just drive to the supermarket and get all the goodies and fresh produce that our hearts (and bellies) desire...and at all times of the year? If I grew my own food and in combination ate only locally, I would not be able to buy really anything from a big-chain supermarket. Why go through all this trouble when the easy thing to do is continue with the business as usual approach?

Meet Michael Pollan. He is a journalism professor at agricultural school Cal Poly (California Polytechnic State University) and author of many recently famous books, including 'The Omnivores Dilemma', 'Botany of Desire', and 'In Defense of Food'. The one I'm reading now is Omnivores Dilemma... and just 80 pages deep I've already been shocked by the images described.

What a disgusting and unnatural food system we have. Corn being fed (the main diet) to animals that never ate corn in their entire evolutionary existence... only being given this because it's cheaper, faster and gets them fatter than grass alone would (for cows). Chickens, hogs and now even fish are being forced to eat this diet of grains. But who cares, corn is good for you, right?

Let's toss in some antibiotics while we're at it. That will help the numerous sick animals that are sick because of the diet we're feeding them and the conditions they are living in. The mass production of meat is a horrible sight to see...

And then we eat these animals which ate the antibiotics we fed them. What's bad about that? Well, the diseases that we (humans) get are sometimes so powerful that we need antibiotics to help heal ourselves. Michael Pollan forecasts a frightening future where today's diseases are actually developing immunities to these antibiotics. And since we're ingesting the animals that eat these antibiotics regularly, there will come a time when the antibiotics will no longer work effectively. The common cold could end up killing us somewhere down the road...

Now, I'm not telling everyone to become vegetarians, but if you want to eat meat, I urge you to buy locally and buy organic. The other shit that's out there is so horrible for your body and for the planet... and don't get me started about the greedy corporate interests.

I've only given you a glimpse of the current system. I haven't even talked about Monsanto patenting seeds and sue-ing farmers for saving any to plant the following year (which is exactly what farmers did for the previous ten thousand years.)

I've gotten really fired up about this and I don't even remember the last time I really got angry. Greedy, greedy people have a frightening control over the food distribution system and the world as we know it. I urge everyone to go out there and plant their own garden, support your local economy, eat healthy, and to read one of Michael Pollan's books.

If you don't have time to read or are a movie person, go to the following link and watch the movie "FOOD INC." for free!

http://milledrive.com/videos/29660/Food_Inc._2009_Documentary.html

I hope that some of you will begin to do a little research on where your food comes from, or at least think twice about it. Honestly, I don't see how anyone could eat the same way after watching this video and reading Michael Pollan's words. Be prepared to be shocked...