“Americans import Danish
sugar cookies, and Danes import American sugar cookies. Exchanging
recipes would surely be more efficient.” – Herman Daly, economist.
In today’s globalized world, the number of miles a typical
piece of food travels before it gets to its final point of sale
averages 1,000 to 1,500 depending on which of many studies one is
reading. Nearly one-fifth of oil and gas consumption in the U.S. is used
to power our industrialized food system. This doesn’t just include fuel
for shipping food, but also growing it (tractors, pesticides,
fertilizers), processing it (factories, refrigeration, packaging
materials), and distributing it (warehouses, stores, and restaurants).
Between 7.3 and 10 units of fossil-fuel energy are required for each
unit of food energy we consume. Which means far more energy is used up
getting a meal onto our plates than we will actually gain from eating
it.
There is endless madness going on in our corporately
controlled food system, with widespread harmful repercussions. But there
is also a huge and vibrant movement of people who are throwing their
weight, passion, and wisdom into creating and reclaiming healthier and
more just ways to nourish ourselves. As small farmers, and as community
members choosing local farmers to put the food on your tables, we are
all connected to something much larger then an exchange of groceries. We
are together taking part in a global movement of people addressing how
we grow healthy food in right relationship with the earth, as well as
the equal right of everyone to this food, and the dignified livelihoods
of those who harvest, process, and prepare it.
“The only way we’re going to…change the most basic attitude of
policy-makers…is for you and me to become the policy-makers, taking
charge of every aspect of our food system – from farm to fork.” – Jim
Hightower, former Agriculture Commissioner of Texas.
from here
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