Food Myth and Reality

As we approach the Festival of First Harvest, Lugh or Lammas, it is time to reflect on and appreciate our relationship with Nature.

Food and water are life's basics, yet here in North America, far too many of us take them for granted. We assume that when we turn on the tap the water will run and when we open the fridge door food will be there. Or if not there at the moment, a trip to the supermarket will soon have it well-stocked again.

Yet for millions globally, these are not realities. This week I will begin an examination of global food systems. This is not a new topic but a revisiting of an ongoing theme. Only this time we are considering creating sustainable work and right livelihood. First we explore the myths that can act as barriers to renewing community. Then in several weeks time we will look at water and water distribution.

It is dangerous to assume that just because food grows in the field that it will end up on your table. There are many forces and all too often, many miles, between field and kitchen.

Myth One: There's not enough food to go round: Reality: There's enough food in the world to make most people fat!

* Enough food is available to provide at lest two kilos per person per day worldwide: a kilo of grain, beans and nuts, about half-kilo of fruits and vegetables and nearly a half-kilo of meat, milk and eggs. * Even most "hungry countries" have enough food for all their people--many are net exporters of food.**

Myth Two: nature's to blame:

Reality: Food is always available for those who can afford it--starvation in hard times hits only the poorest, when natural events are the final push over the brink.

* Millions live on the brink of disaster in South Asia, Africa and elsewhere because they are deprived of land by a powerful few, trapped in the grip of debt or miserably paid. Human institutions and policies determine who eats and who starves. In the west many homeless people die from the cold every winter, yet responsibility does not lie with the weather.

According to the United Nations, food is a human right. Let's honour that right. It is time that we stop and think about the role that food plays in our lives. It is time we quit tossing down take out food without bothering to think about the social, economic and environmental impacts that our culinary choices have.

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