by Corey Matsumoto

Despite advances in medicine over the decades, there is evidence of a rapid increase of disease and the general unhealthiness of our population. There are many factors that continue to contribute to this trend (environmental pollution, physical and emotional stress, and a downward trend in physical activity), however, the most obvious factor is the North American diet.

When we think of an unhealthy diet, most of us envision fast food, fatty meats, and sugary treats. Although the problems with such foods are commonly known, we seldom consider that many of the foods we deem “healthy” may not have the health effects we expect, and in fact may have disastous effects on the earth.

Food production used to belong primarily to local small farmers who produced fresh produce and meat for their area. Farm animals worked the land, grazing on the natural grasses and insects before being slaughtered, and produce was cultivated from heritage seed in its natural state. In our seemingly endless quest for cheaper goods and services, we’ve unwittingly undermined the quality of our food supply by choosing cheaper foods created by large-scale, centralised, production and distribution systems.

Although these systems produce cheaper goods, we should be asking ourselves, “At what cost?” Such systems honor quantity over quality, and many of the fruits and vegetables are hybridised to create varieties that grow faster and can withstand the long and rigorous journey to the supermarket shelves. This hybridisation process leads to vitamin-deficient varieties that lack the rich flavor of their distant relatives. Simularly, factory-farmed animals, fed on the cheapest grains available and pumped full of antibiotics and growth hormones, can never contain the same vitamins and flavor of the family-farmed, grass-fed animals of the good ol’ days.

Furthermore, the fruits, vegetables and meat produced in this centralised system need to be trucked hundreds of miles to get to our shelves, which creates tons of pollution and ties food prices to world energy prices. Such systems are neither sustainable nor desirable.

The Powell River Sustanability Stakeholders Ideal #2, “The support of local organic agriculture” encourages Powell Riverites to focus on localising our food supply. By joining the PRSS program, you are pledging to make a difference. Grow or expand a garden. Join a CSA or food co-op. Demand local produce at the local grocer (and expect to pay for quality). It’s time to let common sense prevail by refusing to substitute hollow foods for our health. It’s time to take control over our own local food supply.