you are what you eat

in the past few months i have spent more time thinking about food, than i have at an time in the past. not any food stuff in particular, more the philosophy and politics of how food ends up in our homes and in the meals that we eat. there is a new catchall term that has recently surfaced, grub, which describes food that is sustainable, locally, organically, and ethically grown. i am willing to concede that this may be a bit "pie in the sky" (pardon the food pun) concept, but i think that there is something there none the less.

why are we eating food that is loaded with harmful pesticides and chemicals, picked before it is ripe, and trucked around the world (which wastes natural resources and drains food of it nutrients and freshness), when we can eat food that is grown on local farms and put on the market the same day it has been harvested? think not only of the personal benefits that we would reap from eating food with more vitamins, minerals, etc. but how we could help to create a more positive economical/political system where farmers are rewarded for providing a high quality product that meets a local demand. allowing local growers and food sources to flourish would also help change the current system of multi-national food production and distribution that is wasteful and totally negligent in term of oversight.

i am by no means a model of sustainability, as i enjoy a mountain dew and a pack of sour patch kids as much as the next 8 year old. however, when i think about the old adage "you are what you eat" and ponder my diet, i quickly realize that I want that equation to be as healthy, physically and socially, as it can be.