sufficienty quality food is an inherent right of every living being

Food....what this blog is all about...

Or is it?

More or less...let me explain.

It indeed is a major component of this blog, of what I do that provides me with material for this blog, of our lives in general...We need x amount of calories everyday...no way around that.

All calories aren't made equal though.

I may seem obsessed with agriculture ( Ok I am, just a bit, and yes I am still mentally sane), but my interest comes more from the freedom that comes with it. The freedom to have sufficient food...the freedom to have access to quality, nutritious food....the freedom to disconnect from the food-for-profit that stems from the unfettered capitalism our society is so entangled into.

Now I hear the accusations of communism in the backdrop...

I said unfettered capitalism, not capitalism. I believe profit can be pursued without the need to destroy everything and everyone in the process. I believe in morality. I believe in balanced systems that bring about a balanced society.

We often feel like we are recipients of whatever the corporate food systems bring to us. I hit the supermarket and grab a head of lettuce, because it's what's available on the shelves...It's gotten to the point where we have accepted that toxicity is part of the deal...Between price, quality and taste, we feel limited in our resources in such a way that it seems inevitable that one of those variables will take a beating. Understandably, quality does...We all want to keep some enjoyment out of our foods, which, again, is not unexpected.

My beef is with the forces that keep pushing the idea that a compromise is an absolute necessity. That you can have quality and taste, but the price will take a beating. That we can have good prices and taste, but then quality takes a beating....you get the picture.

This is the 5th economy. This is what will save us from economic destruction. What will keep our food dollars and jobs local. What will empower us and future generations, make us healthier, smarter, more energetic.

We've had resources, then manufacturing, then services..Then came technology. And then what? Nafta and globalization were pushed upon us as something that would make us all more prosperous. We were told it was the globalization of profit, opportunity...It really was the globalization of labor...try competing with an auto worker in China....We were duped.

Food production may seem like a backward step...and it would be if we were to go at it the old way, the oil way, the chemical way.

But we are going at it the natural way, the creative and ingenious way, the high tech way.

We are not farmers....we are Supercroppers...

And to give you hope, here's a shot of one of the ingredients of today's lunch...fresh, organic, tasty, nutritious baby lettuce mix..




Have a nice HyperLocal day everyone!

Khaled