I don’t know about you, but to me, having to go to the grocery store is one of the biggest downers of life. Sure, I love to eat and cook, but I think we can all admit the grocery store experience is quite unromantic. The artificial lights, rows of processed food, cheesy pop music, beeps from the scanners, and lineups is enough to make one feel like their soul is wilting.
This summer, I attended the weekly local farmer’s market ritualistically. It’s such a pleasant way to get outdoors and spend time with that special someone. When you make it a habit, it helps to plan your week and make those unavoidable grocery store trips short.
Veggies and fruits are always so much more fresh and lively and it feels good to support local businesses.
On top of all that, there is an even more important reason to get your food from local and organic farmers as much as possible:
To avoid the looming threat of starvation.
Sound hyperbolic? Unfortunately, soil erosion is a real problem next to global warming.
Soil erosion occurs when land is intensely farmed and cultivated, as is done with all commercially grown, genetically modified food. When soil is eroded of nutrients, it can no longer support the growth of plants.
And what that means is that we will be facing a shortage of food. And according to the laws of economics, when something is scarce but high in demand, prices will go up. Which is pretty scary in this already dismal economy.
Commercially grown food is eroding soil at a far quicker rate than it can replace its nutrients. It is estimated that we only have 60 years of topsoil left that can grow food, and that 70% of topsoil is gone.
So, those seemingly innocent donuts and burgers from the fast food joint at lunch time could actually be contributing to our demise.
Furthermore, genetically modified food is depleted in vitamins and minerals that we need to thrive optimally, and also sprayed with pesticides that is likely damaging to us over the long term. Hence why we are experiencing such staggering rates of disease.
Apart from growing our own food to stop our dependence on grocery stores, buying from farms that are local and committed to sustainability is the next best option.
It seems that choosing to consume only local, organic ingredients goes beyond one’s individual and lifestyle choices at this point. It has become a political thing as well as an act of caring for the natural environment and the life that lives on it.
Things to read …
http://world.time.com/2012/12/14/what-if-the-worlds-soil-runs-out/
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/soil-depletion-and-nutrition-loss/