You are what you eat

It is said that ‘You are what you eat’. You can’t help but then ask, “What does that make me?” Are you supersized, with extra flavor, longer lasting and filled with all those ingredients that you can’t even pronounce?

From the garden out back or a massive monocrop farm over 2000km away, everything you eat has an impact on yourself, your community, and the well-being of this planet.
When sitting down to your next meal, pause for a moment to consider the food that sits in front of you. Where did that carrot come from? How long ago was that lettuce picked? How many miles did that tomato have to travel to get your plate? How many chemicals and machines where utilized to get that berry to your hand?

We have a power in our food choices. Each time you open your wallet, you vote for what food system you want in our world. Do you choose to pay a little more and purchase locally grown food from a local farmer? Do you choose to support the egg producers that allow their chickens outside to forage? Or, do you get the best deal on some fruit that was shipped from over 2500km away and sprayed by multiple chemicals on its travels?

“Our relationship to food is suggestive of our relationship to life.” says author Cecille Andrews. Her book ‘Slow is Beautiful’ challenges us to slow down our continual consumption and take time to look around at the impacts of our decisions. By slowing down, you have more time for relationships that can create a culture of connection, and become more mindful of our connection with nature, she says.

With all the conveniences of today’s society, we seem to have less time to do the things that matter, and frequently find ourselves living in time poverty. We are rapidly losing sight of the most fundamental part of our lives, feeding ourselves. Luckily, this time of year the grocery stores carry more BC produce, the farmers markets abound, and local gardens flourish making it easier to make a healthy choice. Yet, it can be overwhelming to try and demystify the world of food production and understand the impact of our food choices.

There is help out there though. A radio show on Nelson Coop Radio CJLY, broadcasts essential information about local food security through the weekly program Deconstructing Dinner, hosted by John Steinmen. Broadcast on 35 radio stations across Canada, Deconstructing Dinner also appears on over a dozen stations around the world and makes it easier to link into what is really happening to our food system. All the enthralling and sometimes shocking episodes are also accessible online at http://kootenaycoopradio.com/deconstructingdinner.

Many people are now getting a clearer picture of the connections between food, climate, and petroleum, and are reconnecting with the joys and challenges of growing their own food. Gardening has officially become ‘cool’. Proof is seen in the BC seed growers that have seen a dramatic increase in sales this year. "I've never seen the likes of this in over 20 years of selling seeds," confirmed owner Dan Jason of Salt Spring Seeds. "The phone calls, e-mails, letters, seed orders are relentless. Everyone wants to grow food now. So many people are attempting gardens for the first time."

If you can’t experience the magic of pulling a carrot from your own garden out back, then the Garden2Market booth at the Sunday Market is the closest way to enjoy eating just picked, fresh Fernie grown produce. This Community EcoGarden program works to improve the availability of locally grown food by linking local growers/gardeners excess produce and those that want to purchase just picked locally grown flowers, fruit, vegetables and berries. To learn more,visit www.ecogarden.ca/garden2market.

Perhaps it should be said, ‘You are WHERE you eat’. Eating locally grown, seasonally available, unprocessed whole foods would allow us to comfortably answer the question “What does that make me?”