Your Food’s Hidden Journey (And Why it Matters)
Today I’m turning my blog over to Nancy W. of Regenerative Mama, to talk about the all-too-hidden journey of our food and why our food’s journey matters to our health and wellness.
Did you know about 75% or more of the nation's fresh veggies come from just TWO valleys in California? That means our produce is traveling 1500- 2000 miles to get to our grocery store.
HIDDEN FACTS ABOUT YOUR FOOD'S JOURNEY
On the global market, food can travel 10,000 miles or more via trucks, trains, and boats before it hits your grocery store shelf
Produce is typically picked PRIOR to ripeness and then thrown on trucks and in refrigeration with ethylene and nitrogen gases to finish and/or preserve their harvest
Some foods, like apples, are waxed to maintain freshness and for looks, but are then able to sit up to a year in warehouses.
Meat labeled "Product of the USA" could actually have been raised outside of the country where regulations are bleak for animals, but because it was inspected domestically by the FDA, it is suddenly a product of the USA
“The grocery store is out. Shopping direct from Beyond Organic and Regenerative Farmers is in.”
Our standard food model demonstrates little regard for the long term health of farm ecosystems, local communities, farm owners, and the wellbeing of human labor and proper animal management. It is short sighted. The simple act of knowing your farmer and supporting a local supply chain gives each of us the opportunity to be an environmental and global activist. When we shop for food we are using our wallets as the power to flip the environmental crisis and the human and animal farming crisis on its head.
WHAT YOU CAN DO: Regeneratively Farmed & Beyond Organic Products
Regenerative does not just mean organic: it's beyond organic. It means that the farm, with it's current system, can sustain itself without the use of industrialized products, methods, or excessive carbon footprints. It means less tillage and more carbon sequestration. It means animals follow the laws of biomimicry to renew soil and promote plant and biological diversity of all kinds. It means an increasingly more nutritious food for the consumer and their families.
Benefits of Regenerative Farming
Some benefits of regenerative agriculture and beyond organic practices include:
Revitalizing local economies
Creating drought resistant soils
Improving conditions for animals
Improving crop yields and nutrition
Reversing climate change
Decreasing green house gas emissions
Restoring grasslands
Nurturing biodiversity
Where to Start
It can be overwhelming to know where to start with these things! Fortunately, I’ve got options to take out ALL the guesswork for you:
Try my Regenerative Mama Better Box, full of regeneratively farmed/beyond organic dry goods. This allows you to sample many different products at once to see what you like. Also makes a perfect gift!
Want a list of products tailored specifically to YOUR shopping practices? Try my Trade Up service, where you give me the top 20 foods/products you buy from the grocery store and I give you a list of their regeneratively farmed/beyond organic replacements, as well as where to buy those products either near you or direct from the farm!
Your health is in your hands! Take it back by ditching the grocery store and mindfully shopping for products that are better—for you, your family, our famers, and the planet.
