late last night I finished the new Barbara Kingsolver book Animal Vegetable Miracle It was wonderful and I really want to recommend it to all of you. She is funny, caustic, serious, sad, and hopeful by turns. But the big thing about this book is she gets how to talk to people about this issue. And that is what folks need to be doing.
Talking, thinking, helping each other, and making changes.
The issue of our food supply, big ag business, packaged processed gunk, and all the surrounding issues are a big tangled mess. To most people it is too depressing and too incomprehesible to even start to untangle it all.
I am trying in my own life to talk to people more about these issues. Talk with them, not preach at them. Figure out ways together that we can make small changes.
Small changes as simple as this...
we bought our bread at a small local bakery instead of a big supermarket, cutting down the processing and transportation cost of getting my bread to the factory then to the store and then to me... (less fuel consumption)
we are looking into finding a CSA which is not easy here since I live in Japan and I can't read Japanese (though I speak it fairly well) But I have heard that there are a few and so I am doggedly trying to track one down.
baby steps.
but something...
and if we all take a few baby steps it will be a leap forward for our global food systems. there is power in our purchasing.
Here is an easy one. Do you buy coffee at starbucks? if you said yes, ask for fair trade. (they always have a few fair trade blends but they are not always on display) this is easy. It is hard for 90% of to consider buying coffee locally since it does not grow where most of us live... but you can buy coffee that is raised in a better environmental manner and that pays the farmers a fair wage.
easy.
now what I want to ask all of you- how can we talk to folks about this stuff. growing things at home, buying from local farms, giving up on at least some of our convenience foods? how can we get there together?
have you made some changes?
was it hard?
was it easy?
Do you care about this issue, and if not why not?
and if you do, what got you involved?
what are some books, websites, and information sources that approach this issue in an intimidating way?