foodsheds?

Good Food Nation, 2009 Nov. 10

This MITnews article is an interesting piece for anyone interested in the relationship between where their food comes from, what they eat, and how much they weigh.

"Obesity is widespread due to our national-scale system of food production and distribution, which surrounds children — especially lower-income children — with high-calorie products. “The problem lies not just in a child, but the whole environment around a child,” says Albright. “To end obesity, we need to produce healthier, more accessible, more affordable food.” As Albright notes, 90 percent of American food is processed — according to the United States Department of Agriculture — meaning it has been mixed with ingredients, often acting as preservatives, that can make food fattening."

"Only 1 to 2 percent of all food consumed in the United States today is locally produced." And yet "during World War Two, small “victory gardens” produced more than 40 percent of America’s fruits and vegetables." Quite an interesting pair of statistics.

Really, none of this is a surprise to me. Local produce in CT is priced for people who can afford nannies- local organic is for people with butlers and maids. Personally I'm looking forward to having a garden so that I can affordably grow the things like heirloom tomatoes and more pumpkins than I can shake a stick at. I'm also allergic to grass which means I won't really miss the lawn.