On the flip side of this; purchasers must affect change. By raising our families and influencing our friends to utilize “real food” and purchase less “junk food” we will be healthier and the corporations will have less money.
Yes, yes and yes!!! And now implementing… our local farmers market offers deep discounts and free food for those who qualify, and many also donate extra produce to our food bank, which often goes unused. I believe a big part of the problem here is lack of education on how to cook fresh food and taste buds that are used to highly processed “food “. Some also lack a kitchen and or utensils, but in our area we primarily see children brought up on processed “food “ and then raising their children the same way. So yes, let’s tax/ regulate, and vote with our forks!!!
Bravo! Can we also talk about the way our foods are manufactured to use more addictive and unhealthy ingredients vs exported versions? High fructose corn syrup etc.
Thank you. The Santa Fe Farmer’s Market offers to trade food stamps for “coins” the purchaser then gives to the producer. At the end of the market hours these folks come to shop and most of the producers I know are very generous with the scales.
And everyone who eats animal products needs to visit a “farm”.
I find that your focus on things we can do now is very helpful and hopeful. Please follow up with recommendations of groups to support/get involved with that are working on these goals.
Mark - I really loved this post and all of the ideas. For me as schools start back without a National mandate for free meals and with so many school districts serving the bare minimum to meet the USDA guidelines...... I'd like to see the USDA mandate healthy school meals for all students and support that mandate with enough funding to have a priority on local procurement. Thanks for a great post.
Because we live in a country that values profits for giant corporations over the well-being of human beings, it's difficult for many people to imagine what the implementation of your vision would be like. Thank you for your post on this topic.
"Food is to nourish humans" is still too narrow, too anthropocentric to be a fundamental principle. Food is what nourishes and enables the dynamics of life. All life. Whether it is plants eating sunlight, fungal forms eating decomposing life, lichens eating rock, extremophilic bacteria eating whatever it is they eat, what keeps the cycles of life in play is food. Everything alive consumes something as its food, and is in turn consumed by others as their food.
Yes! Excellent post of ideas and solutions which are not new but require frequent reposting. I also just watched a fantastic video which is an important companion to this, “Fantastic Fungi”.
Good article. Thank you, Mark Bittman, for your always thoughtful insights! How about adding to your list: make room in our current food system for regional/local food systems by providing incentives to (2) local small-scale producers who grow food that we actually eat, (2) small-scale local processing facilities and distribution system to help get this food to consumers, and (3) small food businesses that are creating products for consumers. (Here small scale means non-industrial size.) Now these groups are fighting for a space in our food system, and a more distributed system helps communities and our food security.
Being 79 years old and on a fixed Income prevents me from becoming a Full member. I only have a limited amount of disposable cash every month, consequently, no latitude. I thank you for your curtesy and wish I could oblige. Thank you.
What Is Food?
Thank you Mark, as always.
Nourish people, and nourish the land and the living beings who are part of it.
If we did that, what a deep wealth we would all share.
On the flip side of this; purchasers must affect change. By raising our families and influencing our friends to utilize “real food” and purchase less “junk food” we will be healthier and the corporations will have less money.
Yes, yes and yes!!! And now implementing… our local farmers market offers deep discounts and free food for those who qualify, and many also donate extra produce to our food bank, which often goes unused. I believe a big part of the problem here is lack of education on how to cook fresh food and taste buds that are used to highly processed “food “. Some also lack a kitchen and or utensils, but in our area we primarily see children brought up on processed “food “ and then raising their children the same way. So yes, let’s tax/ regulate, and vote with our forks!!!
Bravo! Can we also talk about the way our foods are manufactured to use more addictive and unhealthy ingredients vs exported versions? High fructose corn syrup etc.
Thank you. The Santa Fe Farmer’s Market offers to trade food stamps for “coins” the purchaser then gives to the producer. At the end of the market hours these folks come to shop and most of the producers I know are very generous with the scales.
And everyone who eats animal products needs to visit a “farm”.
I find that your focus on things we can do now is very helpful and hopeful. Please follow up with recommendations of groups to support/get involved with that are working on these goals.
Mark - I really loved this post and all of the ideas. For me as schools start back without a National mandate for free meals and with so many school districts serving the bare minimum to meet the USDA guidelines...... I'd like to see the USDA mandate healthy school meals for all students and support that mandate with enough funding to have a priority on local procurement. Thanks for a great post.
Because we live in a country that values profits for giant corporations over the well-being of human beings, it's difficult for many people to imagine what the implementation of your vision would be like. Thank you for your post on this topic.
"Food is to nourish humans" is still too narrow, too anthropocentric to be a fundamental principle. Food is what nourishes and enables the dynamics of life. All life. Whether it is plants eating sunlight, fungal forms eating decomposing life, lichens eating rock, extremophilic bacteria eating whatever it is they eat, what keeps the cycles of life in play is food. Everything alive consumes something as its food, and is in turn consumed by others as their food.
Yes! Excellent post of ideas and solutions which are not new but require frequent reposting. I also just watched a fantastic video which is an important companion to this, “Fantastic Fungi”.
Good article. Thank you, Mark Bittman, for your always thoughtful insights! How about adding to your list: make room in our current food system for regional/local food systems by providing incentives to (2) local small-scale producers who grow food that we actually eat, (2) small-scale local processing facilities and distribution system to help get this food to consumers, and (3) small food businesses that are creating products for consumers. (Here small scale means non-industrial size.) Now these groups are fighting for a space in our food system, and a more distributed system helps communities and our food security.
Let Them Eat Kale
Like the illustration a lot!
Being 79 years old and on a fixed Income prevents me from becoming a Full member. I only have a limited amount of disposable cash every month, consequently, no latitude. I thank you for your curtesy and wish I could oblige. Thank you.
Dino Farina
Good one, Mr.Bittman. It's so important to understand the relationships between agribusinesses, our food and our society...but it ain't easy!