If we are what we eat, we are a mess. This is a great video that describes the problems we have with our food system. It gives a history and a compelling argument for why we should go back to some of the older ways of food. Britton and I want to get off the grid in Puerto Rico so we can grow and raise our own organic, local, healthy food and get out of the vicious cycle we are in right now.
Mark Bittman on Food
– Make sushi rolls
– Make fruit salad
– Make deviled eggs
– Tomato and Cucumber Salad
– Make gift raffle pack (mohito, salsa, flower boquet, fruit basket, beer or wine pack)– Buy food
– Buy ammo (potatos for launching)
– Buy glow in the dark paint (for potato launching at night) *None Available at Lowes*
– 6 feet of sub
– go to whole foods for chocolate, olives and cheeses and boulder chips
– new belgium brewery for ‘giddy up’ and ‘old cherry ale’ *COULDN’T COMPLETE DUE TO TOUR DE FAT*
– make sun tea
– pick up tiki torches from craigslist contact *DID NOT COMPLETE*
– pick up chairs and missing piece for potato launcher from Lowes *LOWES DOESN’T HAVE ANY CHAIRS!!*
– mow lawn
– put down red mulch
– clean Josh’s cage and room (Parrot)– vacuum whole house
– Get Keg/beer and drinks
By Cassie
Britton sent me the link to an article with that title, so of course I had to read it. (And Isaac sent it to me after I sent him the Michael Pollan video – bk)
http://www.acresusa.com/toolbox/reprints/Salatin_Sept03.pdf
El Jibaro
I thought it summed up a lot of what Britton and I have talked about before. The “system” -the impersonal “they”- make it very difficult to get OUT of the system that was built by them. “9/11 fueled renewed acceleration to
eliminate freedom from the countryside,” said the author of the article, Joel Salatin. It is interesting to think about 9/11 as a conspiracy or a launching pad for a way to control people even more than before. The Patriot Act seems so finely tuned to remove personal freedoms including privacy, it is scary that everyone went along with it without much of a peep. All in the name of fighting “terrorism”. These are policies that revolve around fear. If we turned it around and another country were doing what we do daily, they would be on our Enemy Number 1 list (torture, spying, weapons proliferation).
The article goes into detail of all the things that a farmer today cannot do including: processing his own food to sell, using the farm as an educational outlet, collaborative marketing and selling other farm goods at his farm, employing youth and interns, and building a small house. He also discusses why the big companies want eradiation (basically x-raying and killing all living material in food for fear of food-pathogens), genetic altering of food (this questionable process stands to earn Monsanto, Dow, and the other chemical companies hoards of money in patents), and to not allow people to even visit farms for fear of infecting all the immune-compromised animals (this is already true). They want to require GPS on all farm animals (this is already happening, but not feasibly working), and to remove firearms from farmers who may need them to defend the farm against predators, or to cull a downed animal. All of these have been proposed and/or are in the works as part of our national food policies.
Goat Farming
When we were in Puerto Rico talking with Awilda about the finca (farm) we asked her about regulations, permits, water rights, etc. She said, “This is el campo (country), no one comes up here, but if you want all that trouble, you go to Arecibo.” She makes pasteles out of the food grown on the land and sells it to local health food stores and had to get food labels made. “If they could, they would attach a box to your back and charge you every time you breathe.” I think I like this lady.
I hope to see a lot of these down there
I understand regulations and their need in our society, but sometimes we need common sense and incentives to make it easier to live green and sustainably, not disincentives. The roads on the way to work have no sidewalks or bike lanes, for instance, so my incentive seems to be to drive, not bike. It is much easier to fill out paperwork and work for someone else than to start your own business. It takes a lot more motivation, but that is the only way to fight the system. Going along with everything just further entrenches us. Live and work in the little boxes we created for you, you can’t go far without us, the system seems to hum at us, like a concrete and metal bee hive.
Also, I found this great website: www.ted.com There are so many great discussions on here. This is one from Michael Pollan, and he actually compares us to bees as well. Joel Salatin is one of his mentors and is highlighted in The Omnivore’s Dilemma.
Presentation by Michael Pollan
Keep Gas Prices High
By Cassie
I know, I know. That sounds like blasphemy, but it really can bring about solutions not the least of which would be ending our dependence on oil and therefore foreign powers (eg: war!). How do high gas prices work to decrease our dependence on oil and what other benefits can be derived? I can think of at least three ways.
1) High gas prices drive up the price of everything that is shipped in, and that is a good thing because we think before we ship. Why are we shipping in water for instance (in the form of bottles of water, watermelons, pop, oranges, beer and so many other things)? We may actually go back to a simpler and more sustainable way of life if we shipped/trucked fewer things in/out. The things that are shipped in should be things we can’t produce locally, and only then, it should be a rare treat to see oranges and bananas in Colorado (or fresh cranberries in Puerto Rico). If we are going to ship things, they should be dry goods like spices or coffee. People could learn how to make bread from local mills (for example) and buy locally produced furniture and toys instead of shopping at Wal-Mart where probably 70% of its products come from China (that’s a long way and a lot of fuel to get here).
The phrase, “think global, live local” sums it up. When we live, eat and buy in and from our local area, we not only support our local area (farmers, businesses, community), but also help to stop the exploitation of other areas across the globe (think: sweatshops, child labor, slavory). I am trying to turn into a locavore. Yes, a little loca too 🙂
2) High gas prices also make you think about your travel. That is also a good thing. Maybe people will use scooters more or -gasp- bicycles and FEET! This can help us combat our obesity epidemic (if you haven’t seen the CDC report, Colorado is the last hold-out, but still tremendous high level of overweight/obesity http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/obesity/trend/maps/) Maybe we will build our cities so that they are connected and people want to go (walking/biking) to a flourishing downtown. Maybe SUVs won’t be the big monster gas-guzzling bullies that they are anymore as people downsize their vehicles.
3) High gas prices also make you think about our energy infrastructure and what we can do about it. We have had electric car technology (and electric trolleys) for nearly a century. We have also had CAFE standards that the auto makers conveniently forget about and pass the fine costs on to the consumer. We have mass-transit solutions (although this might require a change in the individualistic mind-set). We have had solar energy capabilities including being able to beam down energy (no it’s not science fiction) from space solar power.
When we start thinking about this, we start to realize the amount of control the oil companies wield over America. Exxon-Mobil alone makes more money (profits) in a quarter than the annual GDP of many developing nations –combined! No wonder we have been so slow to change our energy policies. Oh, that and we have an oil man in the highest position of the land. Hmmmm.
Listen, I don’t like paying more for energy than anyone else, and in fact, I am known for being rather frugal, but if this is the only way to get out from under Big Oil’s thumb, keep on a-rising. It’s certainly given me more incentive to ride my bike! And no, giving us a “tax holiday” (average in US for state and federal is only 47 cents/gallon) or drilling up the wildlife reserves is NOT the answer. Actually, a gas tax could help. We could tax gas until it is obsolete and give the money back to the people in the form of incentives for solar energy on their houses (to power their own electric cars!), or for free bicycle programs, help in creating active community environments, tax rebates for hybrid and other energy solutions, business incentives for work from home programs and not just use the taxes to build bigger roads for bigger cars with bigger seats.
Here’s an article about harvesting the sun’s power from space:
¼/p>