Mindful Metropolis October 2009 : Page 39
We need to work at various levels to recover a direct relationship with farmers and good food. There is a lot standing in the way—from federal policies to large multinational cor- porations with a vested interest in chemical- intensive agriculture, to other large food and fast food companies who make a lot of money by manufacturing highly processed foods from tax-payer subsidized grains. We need people working on Capitol Hill to counteract the money and misinformation put forth by highly paid lobbyists. A lot can be ac- complished with the power of the pocketbook, but we cannot completely reform the food sys- tem by just voting with our forks. There are policy issues and structural issues, like corn subsidies, that keep our current system on life support when in a true free-market economy it would have died a natural death decades ago. It’s true that individuals have a lot of power, but we also need public policy solutions, and many organizations are working to make that happen. But one of the best things about the local food movement is that people are empowered by it. You decide every day what you will put in your body and what you refuse to put in your body. That’s politics at its most basic. I hope that The Seasons on Henry’s Farm, along with many other books out there, will be part of what Alice Waters calls “the delicious revo- lution.” Perhaps a reader will stop buying the “perfect” but tasteless peaches in the store, back away from the global food network, and begin going to a farmers market, or seek out farmers and grocers who sell local meat and produce. how have your travels around the globe impacted the land Connection’s mis- sion? My brother Henry and I spent many years liv- ing in different cultures, and I think that expe- rience led us both to our current lives. Henry decided to spend each day working with the earth and with his extended family to produce good food for the community—in some ways this is a “third world” lifestyle, but it was the only thing that made sense to him. My world travels made me see that we need- ed to make some big changes in the way we use our incredible farmland. We need “land reform” in this country as much as any other nation, and we need “food reform” too. I real- ized the latter when I had the best frittata in my life in war-torn Eritrea. Here was a country almost reduced to rubble, yet I could eat bet- ter food from a tiny roadside café than I could in most restaurants in the United States. Why? Because the ingredients were fresh and local. The Land Connection seeks to get farmers back on the land, growing real food for local families—“real food” meaning nutrient-rich fruits, vegetables, grains, meats, and eggs—not corn and soybeans to sell below their produc- tion cost to companies who pick them apart and then reassemble them into nutrient poor “junk” foods. what’s the next big project for you? do you have another book in mind? The next big project is knocking out some walls in my house. As for writing, I’ll keep trying to bring people to their senses—literally, to enjoy the sight, smells, feel and taste of great food—and figuratively to realize what is happening to the health of our bodies and our planet because of industrial foods. I hope that The Seasons on Henry’s Farm gets people thinking and talking about how they can have an impact—on the environment and on their own health via the food choices they make every day. I know it could be considered naïve, but when consumers make buying deci- sions based on their values, it does bring about change. We’ve seen it happen. If people get to know a few local farmers and their practices, they can get delicious food grown in a way that enhances rather than harms the environ- ment—and do good by eating well. Jacob Wheeler is a journalist, editor, translator and teacher who also publishes the Glen Arbor Sun newspaper (GlenArborSun.com) in north- west-lower Michigan. mindfulmetropolis.com 39
