Today is the day - Occupy Our Food Supply!

Today marks a day of action as part of the Occupy Our Food Supply campaign. As a blogger, good and fair food advocate and overall food enthusiast, it's my responsibility to stand in solidarity with fellow activists to educate and inspire people to end creepy, corporate control of our food system. About today's initiative:

Occupy Our Food Supply on February 27, 2012 will be a major decentralized global day of food action and solidarity. Act locally to affect massive change globally—from hosting a sustainable potluck to planning a community garden to organizing a Tour of Shame featuring corporate food polluters in your area. CREATE/RESIST with your community! 

Want to join Vandana Shiva, Michael Pollan, Anna Lappe, Marion Nestle, Raj Patel and fellow fair food advocates nationally? Click here to find events in your area. If you're a social media user, join the #F27 campaign here.

How are going to Occupy our food system today? What are you plans for long-term occupation?

"I Stand with Farmers vs. Monsanto"

Shout-out to Bill Duesing, executive director of CT NOFA! 

Professor Blastoff: "Taste"

Even when I'm not working on something food-related, I can't escape it. One of my favorite podcasts, "Professor Blastoff," with comedians Tig Notaro, David Huntsberger and Kyle Dunnigan, just had an episode on the topic of taste (subscribe to it; hysterical is an understatement). You should listen to it in its entirety, but the part that piqued my interest was the discussion at the 45-minute mark about genetically modified foods. The guest-expert, Dr. Kathleen Keller, said the following:

Genetic modification is sort of the only thing I think that might save us from running out of food, which we're actually running out of food and energy to grow food. So, we're going to have to come up with new and creative ways of making food sources that will sustain us for the long term.

The conversation on GM foods fizzled out (largely by a way more entertaining conversation with Kyle's mother), but Keller's comments are bothersome. Perhaps from a taste perspective, modifying food to ensure that people enjoy what they're eating and get more nutrients in the process is an ideal pairing. But, it's a cop-out and it shows the harmful link between GM technology based on nutritionism and the perpetuation of an industrialized food system. We're addicted to and have evolved to crave highly salty and sugary food, deepened by the multitude of processed foods on the market that taps into these addictions. Genetically modified foods are not the answer; increased evidence demonstrates that the process is not a suitable solution for long-term sustainability, for our health or the planet's.

Thoroughly depressed? Just ignore my rant and listen to Professor Blastoff. 

Friends, family, farmers: Be a part of "The Lexicon of Sustainability"!

Introducing ... The Lexicon of Sustainability from the lexicon of sustainability on Vimeo.

So cool! The project covers important topics like food security, CSAs, farm-to-table initiatives, permaculture and veggie libel laws. Check out the official "The Lexicon of Sustainability" site and also look at Grist's coverage of the project.

Feel inspired? Add your thoughts to the Lexicon site and participate in this exciting movement.

Pollan's "Food Rules"...animated

"Food Rules" by Michael Pollan - RSA/Nominet Trust competition from Marija Jacimovic on Vimeo.

One of the topics discussed at my grad school residency is the impact of visual media in effectively conveying social justice and sustainable ag. issues. This is a clever, condensed and succinct example of how to show consumers the problems with the food industry, in less than three minutes, and hopefully arm them with a brief education before they head out to, well, consume.