On the Topic of Food

"Folks like Chris Kilham, aka “The Medicine Hunter” (profiled in the NY Times ) who have studied with many indigenous cultures are setting the tone for a resurgence of wild food, permaculture and the healing power of plants. Americans are crippled with drug dependencies from the fervently prescribed antibiotics for viral infections (virus are not bacteria) to seriously strong antidepressants and anti-psychotic prescriptions for mild episodes of depression and anxiety. The endless pursuit of youth sends men to Viagra and steroids and women to diet pills and Botox. All the while, food is the last consideration for many. Blaming things like higher price of organics, or unpalatable taste of vegetables, the time it takes to prepare a healthy meal compared to the 60 second microwaveable (un)conventional ersatz nutrition, Americans get sicker and wonder why. Our faint relationship with where our food actually comes – and why – has displaced a nation.

Mono cropping, the most prominent American farming method is rife with challenges that largely outweigh the benefits: pressure on the soil razes the land, non-cyclical crop rotation harbors more insects and pest, uses more resources, and produces nutritionally inferior food because the soil is too taxed, losing its mineral content.

Farmers face another devastating challenge – the threat of genetically modified (GM) seeds unintentionally pollinating their crops. We know little about the long-term effects of GM food on the body – or our ecosystems. We do know the effects on the bank accounts of companies like Monsanto. Creation of “terminator” seeds force farmers into a continual dependence on a corporate-run seed bank to do what nature has been doing forever. In her documentary The Future of Food, Debra Koons Garcia details the genetically modified (GM) food “business” and what’s left of the North American farmer. GeneWatch.org estimates that there are over 30 million acres of GM crops in the U.S. alone – almost ten percent of our total crop land (primarily soy, corn, canola and cotton) endangering farmers like Percy Schmeiser (he's Canadian) who are being sued for the inevitable effects of cross-pollination from crops like the Monsanto RoundUp Ready canola, which found its way into Schmeiser’s fields and forced him into a losing legal tangle with Monsanto, having to pay them for seeds he never wanted in the first place."

(this has been quoted from an article on Reality Sandwich)