Vision Café
Local & Organic: Keys to a Sustainable Future
by Elyssa Paige
A revolution is happening right now—and you’re a part of it. It’s caused by the simple choice of what you put on your fork. That little decision affects your health, your community, and even the global environment.
Do you know where your food comes from? This is an important question to consider as you push your shopping cart down the aisle. Food typically travels an astounding distance of 1,500 to 2,400 miles from farm to plate in the United States. According to the Worldwatch Institute, this figure has increased up to 25 percent since 1980. Within the agricultural-industrial complex that exists today, food is a commodity. As such, it must be picked, refrigerated, and shipped well before the development of optimal flavor and nutrition.
Locally grown food is different. Fruits and vegetables are picked when ripe and ready for eating, not shipping. According to the authors of Fatal Harvest: The Tragedy of Industrial Agriculture (Andrew Kimbrell, ed., 2002, Island Press), a typical meal made with local ingredients uses four to 17 times less petroleum in transport than the same meal bought through the conventional food chain. In addition, owners of small farms are more likely to reinvest profits from their businesses into their communities than are giant, corporate-owned farms. When you buy from small, local farms, you are reducing your carbon footprint and are promoting your local economy.
The term “sustainable” is on everyone’s tongue lately and that is excellent news! It indicates a rise in food consciousness. People are purchasing organic and sending a message that they don’t want to ingest pesticide, herbicide, or fungicide residues. At least 53 carcinogenic compounds are currently in use on commercial farm products, say the authors of Fatal Harvest. Runoff subsequently pollutes the soil and water, killing countless plant and animal communities. When you buy organic, you avoid unhealthy chemicals and support agricultural practices that nurture, rather than destroy, the land.
Going organic is also a way to avoid Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), in which a gene of one species is crossed with that of another, often completely unrelated, species. New seeds are created in labs, patented for corporate ownership, and planted in fields. Pollinators and wind bring these aberrant strains to neighboring fields, challenging the biodiversity of an environment. And GMOs aren’t the only threat to our food security. We are experiencing a major loss of genetic diversity largely due to huge farms that tend to produce only one kind of crop. For example, only two varieties of apples make up 50 percent of the commercial harvest today. In 1900, there were over 7,000 apple varieties in the U.S., 86.2 percent of which are now extinct. Crop variety is vital to the well-being of future generations and is a standard practice on small, local farms. The key to a sustainable future is to protect and support our local organic farms. With two acres of farmland lost each minute in the United States (according to the American Farmland Trust), it’s more important now than ever.
When we choose locally-grown food from farms using sustainable agricultural practices, we are taking a stand to create change. In San Diego county, there are examples of organizations who are doing just that. The San Diego Roots Sustainable Food Project was formed to strengthen the local food movement in the San Diego region. This network of citizens, farmers, chefs, gardeners, teachers, and students is committed to building a sustainable food system in San Diego.
Roots works to create awareness and education on the subjects of local food and sustainable agriculture. Together with the San Diego Unified School District, Roots has created the Terra Nova Garden at Morse High School in southeast San Diego. This 4,000 square-foot organic garden is the focal point of a learning center which offers lessons in Environmental Science, Nutrition, and Culinary Arts.
The garden demonstrates to students that fruits and vegetables come from the Earth, not from a paper bag—and it offers a positive solution to the growing epidemic of childhood obesity. Furthermore, it empowers students to think critically and solve problems through the study of environmental preservation, sustainable agricultural practices, nutrition, culinary production, and broader business applications.
Currently, Roots is also working on a project to establish The Willow Glen Farm in order to provide the local community with an organic resource center just outside the city’s sprawl. This farm will supply seasonal, organic, locally-grown food as well as offer inspiration and education to children and adults through a community education center. Community partners such as Ocean Beach People’s Organic Food Co-op have stepped up to join the project as well.
Small adjustments to our eating habits have lasting impacts. Buy food directly from your local farmer at a farm stand or a farmer’s market. Join a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) group and get a farm share. Grow some veggies in your backyard. Encourage your local grocery stores and restaurants to offer organic food from local farmers. You can be a part of this revolution as we reconnect ourselves with the Earth and each other and recognize that each decision we make about our food impacts the future.
San Diego Roots meets on Mondays at 4:30 pm in the Ocean Beach People’s Co-op Community Room. For more information, visit the Roots website at www.sandiegoroots.org or write to Roots at roots@sandiegoroots.org. Elyssa Paige is a teacher, writer, and photographer living in Ocean Beach, California. She is on the Steering Committee of the Willow Glen Farm Project and is working towards a sustainable future with every bite!