Destruction of our soil destroys our food

Those of us who are not on the growing end of the food system tend to lose track of the soil which supports production of our food. Even the fish we eat are affected by soil destruction. A new report from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) tells us that we need to see dramatic improvement in the way we – that is, the world – manages our soils.

Doing Well By Doing Good – Theo Chocolates

Joseph Whinney founded Theo Chocolate to realize his passion for chocolate, sustainability and economic justice. As one of the only artisan chocolate makers in the United States, Theo Chocolate is committed to product excellence, supporting sustainable agriculture and improving the lives of farmers and their families.

Micheal Pollan’s Food Rules – Animated

Based on Michael Pollan’s talk “Food Rules,” this animation was created using a mixture of stop-motion and compositing. The challenge was to convey the topic in a visually interesting way using a variety of different food products.

Fresh: A Perishable History by Susanne Freidberg

That rosy tomato perched on your plate in December is at the end of a great journey—not just over land and sea, but across a vast and varied cultural history. This is the territory charted in Fresh. Opening the door of an ordinary refrigerator, it tells the curious story of the quality stored inside: freshness. We want fresh foods to keep us healthy, and to connect us to nature and community. We also want them convenient, pretty, and cheap. Fresh traces our paradoxical hunger to its roots in the rise of mass consumption, when freshness seemed both proof of and an antidote to progress.

Kitchen Literacy by Ann Vileisis

Ask children where food comes from, and they’ll probably answer: “the supermarket.” Ask most adults, and their replies may not be much different. Where our foods are raised and what happens to them between farm and supermarket shelf have become mysteries. How did we become so disconnected from the sources of our breads, beef, cheeses, cereal, apples, and countless other foods that nourish us every day?

You get to decide what to eat, right?

We’re all busy people, and we can easily be overwhelmed by the bewildering array of products on the supermarket shelves. According to the FMI (Food Marketing Institute), the average supermarket today carries nearly 39,000 items. How those products make it to the shelf is something that most of us don’t know. Why is this product available and not another one? Who determines what it is that you get to buy?