Food is medicine. Part One

The stories about America's obesity problem are all over the place these days. Recently a BBC article I posted to my Facebook page quoted research saying that 2/3 of Americans are medically obese. 2/3!!! That's an epidemic of ridiculous proportions. It highlights the fact that human beings truly are what we eat. Unfortunately, many Americans are unwittingly filling their bellies with poison and are becoming sick as a very predictable result. Garbage in, garbage out as the saying goes. Permaculture to me is often about education and changing hearts and minds without guilt, shame, or blame. Most of us have grown up in a truly flawed system through an accident of birth. There is no shame in that. We can however make the choice to refuse to participate in perpetuating the flaws of the system thereby creating a new system that actually serves life rather than profits. One of the "low hanging fruits" we can pick in refusing to participate is the food we choose to buy.

Monsanto, ADM, Cargill et al would have us believe that the planet can only be fed through chemical and bio-engineered agriculture. The Rodale Institute in Pennsylvania has proven that to be false with a multi-decade study. Their study proves organic production out performs and out yields chemical agriculture in the long term while also regenerating soil and withstanding the vagaries of weather better than chemical agriculture. Still,it is the stated goal of Monsanto to control the food supply from seed to plate. The flaw in that system is this-it's all about profit and control. I'll control my own food intake thank you very much! Farmers throughout the US and Canada are being duped into growing GMO "foodstuffs" by promises of higher yields in the short term. These "frankenfoods" then end up in the local grocery store without any labeling to let shoppers know that what they are buying is as unnatural as teats on a bull. Most of the world requires labeling of GMO ingredients. Why? Because a coalition of scientist in the European Union have called for a complete moratorium on GMO foods due to research that has been done showing that they are UNSAFE either to grow or eat. 90% of Vermont's voters recently voted to enforce GMO labeling for GMO tainted foods sold in Vermont. Monsanto threatened to sue the state. Why are they so scared of having their products labeled if they are truly safe?

German researchers recently found glyophosphate (trade name Roundup) in the urine of urban dwellers in Germany. The eco-cide gets sprayed on "weeds" and then leaches into the soil and finds its way into the water supply. Would anyone drink Roundup laced water on purpose? I doubt it. Roundup kills almost every plant it touches. It is very potent to say the least. Monsanto has genetically modified commodity crops, notably potatoes to be "resistant" to Roundup. Are we to believe that a potato liberally doused with Roundup is actually safe to eat? How are we to know if the potatoes we buy are GMO if they are not labeled as such? A good rule of thumb is to only buy organic. Organically produced foods by law have to be GMO free. The major commodity crops, corn, rice, wheat, potatoes, and soybeans are almost if not all GMO unless they are organic. If you and your family are looking for a good place to start buying organic, I encourage you to start there. Consumers drive demand. Nearly everyone eats corn, rice, potatoes, wheat, and soybeans. Demand organic, buy organic, and let the Monsanto house of cards crumble.

Corn production in the US is killing people plain and simple. The US Farm Bill provides enormous subsidies to corn growers to give them an enormous and unfair competitive advantage over farmers in other countries. All those subsidies encourage over production. It also encourages the production of High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS). This sicky sweet liquid is now found in everything from soda to crackers and loaves of bread. Medical research shows that HFCS is a poison to the body causing obesity, diabetes, liver problems, tooth decay, and even dementia. The furor over HFCS has gotten so loud that the producers of this poison product have started a PR campaign of Orwellian proportions in order to keep their market share and to keep the uninformed in the dark. Commercials on TV and the internet are proclaiming that it's "all natural" and "comes from wholesome corn" so how could it be unhealthy? Lots of completely natural things are down right deadly. Corn refiners are now labeling it as "corn sugar" or using other names for it on their products in attempt to keep producing and selling it. Until the government caves in to science, we as food shoppers will have to drive the market. Stop buying it. This is definitely low hanging fruit. Stop drinking soda, read labels in the grocery store on processed products. Again, that corn syrup is GMO as well as hyper sweet poison. You deserve better, your family deserves better than to be poisoned simply by going to the store. Buy organic.

The very best way to ensure that the food you are buying and eating is truly healthful, delicious, and ultimately medicine is to buy local and organic whenever possible. Demanding locally grown, organic products will ensure that farmers in YOUR backyard are not poisoning your local water supply, that they are growing soil rather than destroying it (this is so incredibly important for humanity) and that they are growing for a local economy rather than a global economy. All of this will enhance the quality of life for you, your family, and the entire community where you live. If we can get much of our food form local sources then it will mitigate the effects of having to ship food over vast distances. People in New Zealand deserve to eat their own apples and lamb products. Some food stuffs will still be shipped in. Every thing we do will help though. Buying local often means going to a farmer's market rather than a grocery store. It is truly wonderful to meet your farmer or to have a conversation with a market vendor who is selling local goods. The money stays in the community rather than going to some corporate account somewhere else. The benefits are many and far reaching.

It takes discipline to change habits and starting to buy organic food is a new habit many could take on. Clearly something needs to be done as evidenced by the amount of illness to people and ecosystems being caused by the current flawed system of food production. This goes beyond health and quality of life. It is a moral issue as well. We must refuse to participate in the poisoning of the planet and its inhabitants---human and non-human. We hold the power. Buy organic and ensure it's local whenever possible.

Until next time, be well and love your Mother Earth.