Good Food is Everybody's Business
Far from a useless pursuit, agroecology simply delivers farming science at an appropriate scale without delusions of instant power and wealth. And when left to mature, agroecology programs can be rewarding to all involved.
If you see fudge sauce or marshmallows on the dessert menu, you can bet they’re made from-scratch. No food dyes, corn syrup or hydrogenated oils. Fruit is used when it’s in season and bulk ingredients are organic. No, the sugar’s not local and neither is the chocolate; these are fundamental building blocks of dessert as we know it. I can’t figure a way around that one, but considering everything else we do I’m comfortable with the compromise.
Even as we face globalization (and standardization) of nearly every element of our lives, including the food we eat, there are between 25 and 27 million small and medium independent companies working separately to deliver us diversity and quality. It’s time we recognized the value that these businesses deliver to us, and to our communities.
Throughout the U.S. borderlands, a diverse group of people have come up with innovative solutions to mend our broken food system.
What is most important? That people be employed and happy or that investors become rich? The healthy alternative to more unmanaged – and ungoverned – growth is consciously building resiliency to meet climate change and provide young people a future they can feel good about, not scared to death over. This to me is seriously the “bright side of life” as long as we keep believing in it. Ed Hamer is doing it.
A celebration of the history of small, independent retail and the story of how mom and pop stores across the country still thrive on attentive customer service and renewed community support for local businesses.
It can be tough to figure out why there’s so much fuss over genetically modified ingredients in food. This reprint from the upcoming March 2015 issue of Consumer Reports will help you sift through the facts.
