Vote! Whenever You Get the Chance

My nephew turned 18 last week. I made him a card that said "Yippee you're 18!" on the outside flap. Lifting the next flap revealed the message... "You can vote." And lifting the final flap revealed some cash and the message "So, can a buy yours?" The fact that I should be inspired to give him such a card is a sad commentary on the state of our political system. We talk about clean elections and claim that other countries have more corruption than we do, when the sad fact is, we have simply institutionalized corruption and bribery through our campaign finance laws and supreme court rulings. Perhaps even sadder though was his reaction, and that of his mother. He said "I'm not going to vote," and she said "I'm not voting in national elections anymore." Both feel that they can't make a difference and there is no point in voting. Too many people feel this way now, and perhaps with good reason. 

So how do we change this trend? And how do we change the system so that people feel empowered rather than disenfranchised? Well I'm not going to lie to you. It's going to take a lot of hard work from a lot of people. It is going to take every single one of us getting really and truly involved in the political process, The first thing we need to do is to remember that ultimately the government answers to We The People.  Next we must take up our right and RESPONSIBILITY as citizens to vote at every opportunity, and to be an educated and informed electorate. We need to ignore the TV ads and look at voting records. We need to vote based on what we know is right not just for this minute and ourselves, but for the future and for everyone. 

More people need to start voting with their conscience than their pocket books. We need to be writing to our elected officials and telling them exactly why we are voting for or against them. Perhaps some of those letters should even be shared with the press.   We need to push for congressional term limits to reduce cronyism & the power of wealthy special interest groups. We urgently need to pass a law that will overturn citizens united.. Perhaps we need a constitutional amendment that states the corporations are NOT people and they cannot donate to campaigns. 

I think that only citizens should be permitted to donate and that candidates should be prohibited from know who donated to their campaign.  Any time that a politician is placed in a position to feel beholden to any group other than the citizen constituents of his home district, there is a chance that his policy decisions will be influenced more by the wants of big corporate donors than the needs of his constituents and the nation as a whole.  I suspect we are a long way off from getting these reforms put through. Perhaps many feel that we can never achieve these goals. What I know is that we can never achieve what we never attempt. And these goals are certainly worth working for. 

Most importantly if we want our government to be accountable then we need to hold ourselves accountable for our political action or lack thereof, and then we need to hold our elected officials accountable by exercising our right to vote! If government does not serve the people then it must be served notice by the people. If our elected officials will not exercise the will of the people, then the will of the people must be exercised through their votes to elect new officials!

Self Absorbed

Here I am again after another long absence. I've had a lot of thoughts about the drought in California, about the permaculture principles, about alternative economies, about building community, but I haven't taken the time to sit down and write, because I've been a bit self absorbed lately.  I would love to tell you that I've been very busy with extremely important things. And to some degree I have been. Check out this link to see what I've been up to. However, there have also been evenings when I just came home, and after dinner I flopped down in front of the TV exhausted and vegged out until it was time to crawl off to bed with this nagging feeling that I should be doing more. But each new day comes and I repeat the cycle, like a hamster in a wheel. 

And then it struck me that isn't this a big part of how we have gotten into the situation that we are in economically, environmentally... socially. We have grown accustomed to looking out for number one, of taking the easy way, of doing what seems right at the time, of avoiding challenges, of finding excuses for putting off change. In fact we have grown so accustomed to it that we no longer even realize that we are doing it most of the time. I'm not saying that this is all of us, all the time. Many of us work hard and regularly to make this world a better place for everyone in the future, but as a society in general, we Americans tend to think more about our immediate gratification than of our long term good or the long term good of others or the planet. And the sad thing is, we are spreading this ideology to the rest of the world. 

My challenge to myself and to all of us, is to think of one thing we can do in the next 30 days to reduce our impact on the environment, to implement that goal and to share our success with at least 1 other person. 

From Market and Pantry

So, here I am again the prodigal blogger, back from another long hiatus to report on how our experiment worked out with eating only from our market finds and our pantry for 21 days. In a word, failed. But that is too simplistic an assessment, because we learned a lot from the experiment and in that regard it was a huge success! So what did we learn?

Plan ahead: One of the primary reasons that we only made it to day 9 was because we ran out of a staple (butter) and had to go to the store for it. Once in the store, Hubby saw several other things that appealed to him. He arrived home with 2 full bags.

Plan ahead: Yup, that again, and this time I mean with regards to your meals. Taking some of your free time on a day off to prep a few things ahead that keep well or can be frozen and defrosted quickly will save you from those temptations that occur on the days when meetings run late, traffic is snarled up or for one reason or another you arrive home late and/or exhausted and just don't feel like preparing a meal. This is where we ran into downfall #2 on day 11 when it was my turn to cook and I just didn't have it in me. So a quick pop into a convenience store on the way home yielded a rising crust pizza. I consoled myself with the fact that it was at least vegetarian. 

These next few are going to sound a bit trite, but they are true and applicable. If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Don't give up if your attempts to eat local run into some stumbling blocks. This is bound to happen. You may get a sudden urge for pineapple and, after all, who ever saw a pineapple growing in Maine, or many of the other places in the world where you may find yourself for that matter?  Which leads to the next cliche, 'every little bit counts'. If every person ate one locally sourced meal per week we could reduce oil consumption by millions of barrels and carbon emissions by tons! Every week! And also, 'everything in moderation'. There is no substitute for fresh local food in season, but you do have to eat in winter when there isn't much of that readily available, and you also want to develop a lifestyle that is healthy for your body and your mind. If you are driving yourself nuts over all the things that you CAN'T eat or consume, that's not going to be good for you either. It also needs to be something you can sustain and not give up on after 2 weeks or 2 months. So find yourself some Caribbean,  free trade, shade grown, organic, locally roasted coffee and cut back on your overall intake. Enjoy it knowing that this small change in your lifestyle is making a difference to your health and to the health of the planet. 

When you do go to the grocery store read the labels, even on the produce, especially on the produce, and choose from those things which are sourced from as close as possible. If you live in Pennsylvania, cheese from Michigan is at least more local than cheese from Germany. We also learned that groceries, even large chains, are starting to recognize the demand for more local produce and that if 10 people ask the produce manager of the same store to bring something in, they will, because they know that for the 10 who asked there are another hundred who wouldn't ask, but would buy the product. Another thing about shopping in the grocery is avoiding highly processed foods. These foods represent the most food miles, the most processing and the most packaging which taken together result in the most carbon emissions and the least healthful products to consume.

I had promised you recipes, but we have found that when sticking to the market and pantry we make simple, mostly vegetarian meals of salads, steamed and roasted vegetables and vegetable soups and home-made bread which we just whip up without recipes. When we do use recipes, we simply search by ingredient on Allrecipes.com. This is a great resource and ties in quite nicely with a modern lifestyle. It's also great for finding ways to prepare that interesting new veg from the farmers' market like giant kohlrabi. 

To sum it up, I guess I would have to say that the over arching lesson is that when it comes to eating locally, it doesn't have to be an all or nothing approach. That isn't going to get us where we need to be. Because few of us would be able to achieve and maintain over the long haul a lifestyle of 100% local eating, and the alternative of nothing is not an option. We need to find a sustainable lifestyle that most of us can achieve that will result in a large portion of our foods coming from fresh, local, organic sources. In this way we can make a real impact on the overall health of the planet and of course, our own health as well.  

10 Reasons to Eat Locally

Here are 10 great reasons to eat locally provided by Slow Food Seacoast.

1. Taste the difference: At a farmers market, most local produce has been picked inside of 24 hours. It comes to you ripe, fresh, and with its full flavor. Did you know that on average your food travels 1500 miles to get to your plate? Also local food varieties can be bred for taste rather than their ability to withstand long journeys and a long wait in the grocery store before  being purchased for consumption.

2. Know what you are eating: When you buy from the farmer you have the opportunity to discuss what their farming practices are, whether they used chemical fertilizers, genetically modified seeds, Were the animals fed a healthy diet and raised humanely  without pesticides, hormones or antibiotics.

3. Meet your neighbors: Studies show that people who shop at farmers' markets have 10 times more conversations than their counterparts who shop at supermarkets.

4. Get in touch with the seasons: When you eat locally, you eat what's in season. You'll remember that cherries are the taste of summer. Even in winter, comfort foods like squash soup and pancakes just make sense- a lot more sense than flavorless cherries from the other side of the world.

5. Discover new flavors: Ever tried sunchokes? How about purslane, quail eggs, yerba mora, or tayberries? Count the types of pears offered at your supermarket. Maybe three? Small farms are keeping alive nearly 300 other varieties.

6. Explore your home. Visiting local farms is a way to be a tourist on your own home turf, with plenty of stops for snacks.

7. Save the world: A Study in Iowa found that a regional diet consumed 17 times less oil and gas than a typical diet based on food shipped across country the country. The ingredients for a typical British meal, sourced locally, traveled 66 times fewer "food miles."

8. Support small farms: In areas with strong local markets, the family farm is reviving. That's a whole lot better than the jobs at Wal-Mart and fast-food outlets that the globalized economy offers in North American towns.

9. Give back to the local economy: A British study tracked how much of the money spent at a local food business stayed in the local economy, and how many times it was reinvested. The total value contributed to the local economy was almost twice the contribution of a dollar spent at a supermarket.

10. Be healthy: Eating local usually means more vegetables and fewer processed products, a wider variety of foods, and more fresh food at its nutritional peak. Eating from farmers' markets and cooking from scratch, you'll never feel the need to count calories.

During our visit to the farmers' market today, Hubby and I were inspired to "put our money where our mouth eats" and not make a visit to the grocery store between now and the next farmers' market. We are going to work on eating up the things we canned and froze from our garden, foods we have in the pantry, some of which where gifts from other farmers and wild harvesters and some of which came in our CSA or from our local health food store and local foods market. We are very fortunate to have a market less than 10 miles from our house that sells local produce, meat, and even locally prepared foods such as jams, jellies, granola, candies, coffee roasted locally and more. But even this we will avoid for the next 21 days. We'll have some pretty interesting meals in the mean time, and we'll share photos, tips and recipes.  Tonight:  roasted kohlrabi with old bay seasoning on a bed of greens with local bread from Leaven, falafel and eggplant fattoush from Karimah's Kitchen.

Living on One Dollar

Hubby and I just watched the most amazing movie about 4 young college students who went on an amazing adventure to find out what it is really like to live in a developing nation on 1 dollar a day. What they experienced and the story they tell will move you to tears and to action.

Please watch this video. Please share it with everyone you know. One message you will hear in this film is the concept that there are actually more people in the world who are not poor than there are people who are poor. We are often presented with the image of throngs and masses of nameless poor and we feel powerless to help. In this film you will see individuals with faces and names; children, mothers, fathers and grandmothers that you can help. If everyone who can help, helps just one person who needs help, what a wonderful change we will see in this world.

Living on a Dollar (Movie Link on Netflix)

After you have watched the movie please consider visiting their site and making a donation either to help them continue their work (click on the upper donate button) or to make a contribution directly to the community either through micro loans or educational scholarships (lower/ green donate botton)

Here is the link: Livingonone.org

Thank you and Namaste!

The High Price of Cheap Food

As Americans we are spending less of our disposable income on food then ever in recent history. A Pew study published earlier this year found that from 1970 to 2009 the percent of disposable income spent on food has gone down from roughly 25% to less than 10%. During the same time period caloric intake on average increased by almost 22%! There have been a lot of studies about how all these cheap calories are affecting obesity rates and the health impacts of this increased rate of obesity on Americans. The impact of increased rates of heart disease, cancer, diabetes depression, and other health and social impacts upon our society are serious, but only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the high price of cheap food. We have to look into the grain fields in our heartland and the produce farms and orchards of the west coast and beyond our borders to begin to get a picture of the greater price of our cheap food. There are ecological, political and human social impacts of our industrial food system that spread across the globe.

Here are some statistics that start to paint a picture of food prices as percent of income throughout the world. According to an article published by Tree Hugger Americans spend approximately 5.5% of disposable income on food at home while folks in Germany, France and Italy spend 11.4%, 13% and 14% respectively. When we look into the developing world the numbers are even more staggering. Beginning with South Africa at 20.1% and increasing through Mexico (24.1%), Turkey (24.5%) Kenya (45.9%) and Pakistan at (45.6%). This opens up questions about economic and resource exploitation of the developing world by the first world. Many people throughout the world live in areas where more diverse crops can be produced, but over the last  75 to 100 years as the prevalence of large agribusinesses has grown, the habit of growing more diverse crops has given way to monocultures that harm both the environment and the local economy as well as the farmers who depend upon food production for their livelihood.

We have been hearing more and more about the dismal conditions of agricultural workers and farmers throughout the developing world. These workers are being treated very much like indentured servants and in some cases little better than slaves. Farmers in many developing countries have been driven out of business by competition from cheap food imported from the first world as well as by the demanding aesthetic standards of American produce buyers. Further the economic policies followed by many seed producers further victimize the small farm holders in these developing countries. Many have heard that farmers account for 11.2% of suicides in India. Some of the reasons cited for these suicides include stresses from, high operating costs, farm indebtedness, crop failure and pesticide use, among others.  What we haven't been hearing about is that these statistics are similar to those for farmers in other parts of the world. Environmental degradation of farm land is further exacerbating the plight of farmers around the world.

That's a lot of statistics and gloom and doom. So what is the point of all of this and what can we do to change the situation? So many times we feel hopeless and feel that as individuals, there is really very little that we can do to have an impact on these dire trends. The fact is that is the farthest thing from the truth. It is only we, as individuals that CAN have a true impact. But we all have to make the commitment to make a personal change. And what is that change? As with any situation, we can vote with our wallets and pocketbooks. Fresh, local, organic produce is the healthiest produce you can eat. It is also the most economically and environmentally sustainable; because it keeps dollars in the local economy and reduces the amount of green-house gasses used in the production, storage, distribution and sale of factory farmed produce.  And this is only scratching the surface of the environmental impacts of factory farming that can be mitigated by dedicating ourselves to purchasing our produce from our local organic farmers.  The same principle applies to our meat, dairy and grain products.  So please do your part and support your local organic farmer.

Reflections on Giving Tuesday

Today is Giving Tuesday. I think it is wonderful that some folks have come together around the idea that people should take a little time out from their annual holiday shopping to think about folks in need and organizations that could use a hand up. I'm glad that the organizers of this day have made a point that it's not only about giving money, but also about giving of your time and energy. Ultimately when it comes down to it, all that any of us has that is of value is the time and energy that we personally have to give. 

While I think it is a great idea and a laudable undertaking, I also think it might be one more straw on the camel's back at an already busy and stressful time of year. So, how do we fix that? Perhaps we should examine why this is a  busy and stressful time of year. I would like to encourage each of us to examine how we are spending our time, money and energy during this sacred time of year. Are our activities serving our greater purpose? Is there something that we can let go of that could make this a more contemplative and blessed time of year? Perhaps letting go of some of our shopping and parties would allow us to have more energy and funds for blessing others, and we might find ourselves more blessed as well. 

I would suggest reading the book Hundred Dollar Holiday, by Bill McKibben. Whether you are a Christian in practice or not, this book has a great deal of practical advise about bringing the sanity and sanctity back to the holiday. 

To go back to the idea of Giving Tuesday, let us also remember that these organizations that we are ready an willing to support at this time of the year when we are feeling expansive and generous also need our assistance throughout the year. Perhaps this would be a good time to set up a reasonable, affordable, recurring monthly payment to a worthy organization. This is also a good time to recommit ourselves to giving of our time to groups that are building and revitalizing our communities and helping the needy within them. 

However you decide to celebrate your holidays, and whichever traditions and faith your holidays come from during this very holy period of the year, I hope that yours will be more blessed and peaceful this year than in any year before and that they will continue to grow more blessed and peaceful as the years pass.