Super Eco

Photo credit: ms.lume SuperEco group on flickr

According to Time author Brian Walsh, more than simply a case of penny-wise/pound foolish, the dangerous game of cheap food production is costing us--big time--both morally and from the standpoint of the health and the well being of the planet.

The farming practices employed for growing animals and food crops for the sake of affordable crispy, salty, fatty goodness are becoming hard to reconcile. As a society of consumers we may have lost touch with the great cost of what we consume. Here are some common-sense practices that we can all employ:

1. The first step is becoming informed about what we eat, no, I don’t mean simply reading the nutritional information on the side of a package. Research the food sources that you consume and the companies that produce and package them. Becoming informed about their cruelty free, fair wage and environmental protection practices--if any--and voting with your dollars.
2. Deciding that we can and should delay gratification before we impulse buy. We should employ the courage of our convictions to supply our pantry in a thoughtful healthy-minded way. It is also a good example to set when raising a new generation of consumers that we care about our health and environment.
3. I am not preaching but I practice and suggest practicing being grateful about what and whom we consume. Realizing that some form of life is ending so that we can be nourished and paying tribute to that life is key. Some acknowledgment of this as a daily practice, can be very grounding and liberating.
4. Supporting local organic, sustainable farmers is a key factor in toppling the industrial farming machine. Keeping our eyes fixed on achieving the goals of permaculture and sustainability and not being swayed by or tempted to give in to lethargy, despair and worst of all inaction.
5. Cutting down on our consumption of meat is so important if we care about ourselves and this world, people like Michael Pollan, Eric Schlosser, Mark Bittman and a growing collective of world scientists are not kidding when they say that what we are consuming is killing us and the planet.

Take two or three or even five and call me in the morning! Have a beautiful, sustainable day!