“Who controls the food supply controls the people. ” Henry Kissinger
A few generations ago, it was typical to grow some of your food and buy from the milkman or beekeeper in your neighbourhood. These customs have become rare or altogether vanished, especially in Western cultures.
Have you ever thought about the origins of your food? Package stickers show New Zealand apples sold in England or USA beans exported to Barbados. Why were regional foods transported thousands of miles across continents in exchange for food that could grow locally?
Governments and big businesses have seized the ability of communities to grow their own food, cashing in big profits for stakeholders. This paradigm shift in the way food is grown and traded represents a radical change towards globalization. Once foods are available on the shelves, we may give it little thought.
The importation of food has established a price-setting standard across borders. With taxes and insurance racking up costs, the price of food has been set across all currencies at the same level.
As a result, food bills are exorbitant wherever you go. Countries once assumed to be cheaper are no longer so. Conversely, when abundant foreign supplies disrupt the profitability of local trade, they are forced to surrender to overseas supply.
Ready-made packaged food has been marketed as modern, sophisticated living. The ability to micro-wave frozen food or pick cans of beans for dinner has groomed the masses into dependence on delivery channels. A situation in which the simplistic ideology of growing your own food is portrayed as primitive. However, this privilege comes with compromise.
Eating locally means fresh, sustainable nutrition and quality control apart from food transported over long distances, frozen and sprayed for preservation. Not to mention, you have little to no knowledge of how it was grown or prepared.
Growing some of your food can mean the difference between survival and starvation. In the season of plenty, few will prepare for a drought. Like Venezuela, should the system collapse, what will people do? What’s left after stealing from each other or hunting animals? Self-reliance ensures your survival. Venezuela demonstrated how the structure can crumble around us at a moment’s notice.
Our ancestors grew food as a community, they traded at local markets, shared, and exchanged produce. It worked.
Many complain about the lack of space. Understandably, it’s an issue, particularly for apartment dwellers. The key to this challenge is creativity. Where there’s a will, there’s always a way.
Vertical gardens can be grown on porches, and front and back patios. This is a sophisticated way of growing food in tight spaces.
There is a growing consciousness for natural, home-grown food due to the rise in food pollutants. This means there’s money to be made if you’re interested in growing crops like vegetables, dairy, and types of flour. Not only will you have food, but you will also sustain operations during economic challenges.
You can survive difficult times if you combine your efforts with like-minded people in your neighbourhood. Consider an example: Ben, a domestic grower of leafy greens, potatoes and tomatoes exchanged some of his produce for eggs, milk and butter.
By working together, you can overcome even the most insurmountable obstacles. Of course, for some people, it’s impossible to grow food, but the encouragement is to seek out and support local growers to stimulate replication. If there’s a demand for local food more local suppliers will fill the need. And think of the additional benefit––fresh and healthier foods.
Industrial farming increases yield and profits for investors while depleting soil quality and nutrient density for consumers. Conversely, private farms can provide a rich ecosystem of plants and animals growing together. Their manure stimulates quality production by returning carbon to the ground, acting as a natural fertiliser, and culturing minerals into the soil. You have the power to do something about the quality of the food you consume.
Local growing nurtures soil quality, lowers pesticide usage, and is better for the environment. Unfortunately, needed trace nutrients are stripped from the soil our ancestors once enjoyed and sadly replaced with toxic chemicals that have increased deadly diseases and polluted our seas. Soil health is vital for our survival.
The benefits of eating locally grown foods are undeniable. It’s essential to eat fresh, healthy, and affordable foods, especially when illness strikes. The increased use of technology in food is rapidly reducing the need for agricultural and factory workers. Therefore, those who know how to live off the land will fare better during a food shortage or economic crisis. In a struggling economy worldwide, it’s imperative that we take action now.
Genuine organic non-sprayed food (non-pesticides or herbicides) is the way to sustain health in a growing world of engineered foods. GMOs and roundups are promoted by stakeholders as a way to increase crop yield while lowering carbon emissions. Yet, research shows that genetically modified foods are DNA-altered and can affect the expressions of our own.
“The results of most studies with GM foods indicate that they may cause some common toxic effects such as hepatic, pancreatic, renal, or reproductive effects and may alter the haematological, biochemical, and immunologic parameters.” Pubmed.ncbi. In lay man terms, many studies suggest that eating GMO foods may cause negative health impacts. Which can include problems with organs like the liver, pancreas, kidneys, and reproductive organs. It may cause abnormal changes to the blood, immune system, and body chemistry.
Roundups are unnatural chemicals used to kill weeds, with the active ingredient glyphosate being the most widely used. They have been shown to strip minerals from the human body and increase risk for diseases like cancer, liver and kidney diseases, reproductive issues, immune deficiencies, and other health problems. We need to know what we’re ingesting, how it affects our health, and the possible long-term implications. To learn more about the health risks associated with GMOs and roundups, read the summary below.
https://www.responsibletechnology.org/gmo-dangers/
It is not hopeless. You are not without power. Once there’s life, there’s a way. Let’s be determined to support our local farmers’ markets. It takes creativity and planning to grow something useful, and many foods can be grown in pots. If you have a backyard, plant trees if possible. Instead of growing flowers just for their beauty, consider healing herbs instead.
