Sustainability: Food For Humans

In a world where money and technology have overtaken our everyday lives, we have lost track of our health, daily intake and nutrition. Where have our priorities gone? We’d much rather spend our time and money on material objects rather than nurturing our well-being. Our disconnection has left us with food that is less nutritious, mass produced and pesticide laced.

Many supermarkets carry food that has been sprayed with pesticides and/or are genetically modified. The way genetically modified foods are created is by altering the nature of their genes, typically to resist a certain pesticide or herbicide, in a way to increase potential growth. Round-up ready seeds are a typical genetic modification, with Round-up being an herbicide which kills weeds, but will not kill the plant. These altered plants produce well, but absorb these poisons through their water supply and through overspray. The idea of genetic modification was initiated in the 1970s to enhance medicines and to better our health and lifestyle. Over the decades, this has become a money-making opportunity for farmers to produce more, with contaminants, and charge less (for a product that has less nutrients).

Mass production is what has come through the ease of growing these altered foods. One farmer alone can now grow dozens of acres, as compared to earlier years where technology was not in assistance. This method has dramatically lowered the quality, nutrients and benefits of food, and natural resources. Beside the fact that these plants are flushed with poisons, mass production is highly prone to the spread of viruses such as E. Coli, because of the lack of variety in crops grown unnaturally close to one another.

When you go grocery shopping, do you stick to the outside walls of the grocery store (vegetables, dairy, meats), or do you go for the rows and rows of packaged food? Preservatives also have a lot to do with health issues and nutrients. You will find high-fructose corn syrup in many packaged items; it’s used as a sweetener, but holds no nutritional value, and is linked to diabetes. Prepackaged food holds less nutrients, because the fruit, vegetable, or meat must be preserved by adding potentially toxic products that keep them fresh and produce a longer shelf life. On that note, it is estimated that 70 percent of all prepackaged food contains some form of genetically modified produce.

Aside from fruits and vegetables, meat is also an issue of potentially unnatural and unhealthy food. Many cow lots across America, which carry hundreds, even thousands of cows, lack health and safety regulations that are not enforced by the USDA. These regulations allow the use of hormones which increase the size of these cows, which often develop health problems further on in their captivity. Cows are also typically fed corn grains, which is unnatural to them due to the fact that they are natural grass feeders. These cows must then be injected with certain enzymes that will allow them to break down the sugars of the corn. Many cows often develop stomach ulcers and other stomach problems because of this. This brings us to another point.

(Organic Farmers Market Vegetables)

Corn is a cash crop, and has been over produced for the past 40 years here in the United States. America is known for its ability to grow corn. Our country grows so much corn, that it is cheaper to produce corn based sweeteners, than to use natural sugars. In this year the U.S. has grown an estimated 87.2 million acres of corn, and 80 percent of that is genetically modified. Although there are over 50 varieties of corn available for cultivation, the most popular is Monsanto’s MON863 variety, an altered grain devastating to soil nutrition. For those who shop at Vons, Ralph’s, Scolaries, and/or Walmart, and other supermarkets, this has become the most consistent ingredient in breakfast, lunch and dinner. Not all corn is bad, but the type we are unknowingly over-consuming has put people in higher risk of diabetes.

Many people live their lives unknowing of these facts, but it’s never too late to look at what you can improve in your diet. There are many available alternatives that we as a community can seek to develop a more natural, and healthy eating pattern. Finding local, organic produce and meats has always been easily available through farmers markets. Many local farms such as Givens farm, Fairview gardens, and Tutti Fruiti, are all organic stands with sustainable food, without pesticides. The Isla Vista Food Co-op is also a great source of produce, with many prepackaged items which are organic, natural and tasty. Restaurants such as Zen Yai, use organic vegetables from the farmers market to make their delicious Thai dishes.

It is interesting to note that so many people do not know or do not care what they are eating. We live in the wealthiest, most obese country in the world, and we must come to learn that it is not only our pockets which are affected by our food intake, but also our bodies in respect to health. Along with our bodies, the environment has taken a terrible beating in the last few decades due to pollution and the depleting of natural resources. Enforcing more sustainable methods of packaging, distribution, and most importantly cultivation, should be a primary objective, and something to look out for when shopping for your food. So when the time comes for your next family dinner, thinking organically and locally will keep your environment natural, clean, and healthy, as well as yourself.