McKibben wraps Eaarth up by touching on three huge important things that have to do with the quality of our environment. Of all these, one stuck out to me the most: Agriculture.
Maybe this is because most of my extended family works in the farming industry, or perhaps this jumped out to me because buying local and small agriculture have always been some things I want to look further into. McKibben caught my attention with the following:
“We need to stop thinking of farming in abstract terms as a ‘low rung on the ladder of economic development,’ and remember again what it involves: using water and sunshine to grow plants rooted in soils that can provide the nutrients people need.”
First off, I don’t think we pay enough attention to what happens to the food most of us eat day to day. Even if we do, I think it’s easy for most of us to forget about what we’ve seen and push it under the rug. Most readily available to us is also probably the most contaminated, but it’s convenient, so we decide to turn a blind eye. I would be a hypocrite if I denied doing this. I remember after watching Food Inc, I couldn’t eat most foods for days, but have I really changed my eating habits and pushed the facts out of my mind so I could justify what I’ve always been doing? Yes, and I’m not proud of it.
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| A look at my Aunt's garden this past summer |
If we keep treating agriculture as a “low rung on the ladder of economic development” we’re going to produce food on the low rung of quality. We can’t continue to ignore our current agricultural system.
The second half of the quote made small scale farming seem so pure and simple and clean, I felt good just by reading it! Water, sunlight, soil and nutrients are the most important entities that go into making our food, and I think we try to overcomplicate that. This segment of the quote made me think of my aunt who grows most of her own food and has a small chicken farm. She educated herself on home-grown agriculture and now she eats fresh food pretty much every day! She makes the idea of clean eating attainable for me and she’s a great example of backing off and doing things on a smaller scale.
Overall I thought Eaarth was a spectacular book. Although it was a bit overwhelming for someone who knew nothing about environmental issues at first, I found a lot of value in it and I would definitely recommend it to people.
It's extremely important to be mindful of what we consume! However, this is easier said than done. It's hard to shift from our usual eating patterns to one that emphasizes organic produce, with as little processed food as possible. In the summertime, I'd definitely say it's easier with the farmer's market, but in the winter it's much more difficult! It's something I've been trying to work towards but it's a work in process.
ReplyDeleteI definitely understand what you say, Jessica, when you talk about pushing things out of our minds. After watching Food Inc, I didn't eat chicken for months! But I eventually went back to my habits. I love summer, because I can eat cleaner food (locally grown and not processed), but I really struggle in the winter.
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