Day 8 food

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Overview

“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.” ― Virginia Woolf

Food is powerful. The choices we make when we eat directly affect not only ourselves, but also our planet, local communities, and global population. Yet, we don’t often consider where our food comes from and at what cost. It’s challenging to know the agricultural practices used at the source. Add in over-processing, flashy marketing and engineered packaging, and it can be easy to feel wholly disconnected from what’s on your plate.

Historically, humans have treated food with reverence, farming in a way that respects the earth, cooking nourishing meals, and building community around the table. These traditions have unfortunately been disrupted with the onset of industrial (conventional) agriculture that prioritizes profit over people, planet and quality. “Industrial agriculture is characterized by heavy pesticide use and practices that endanger human health, particularly farm workers, deplete the land, mistreat animals, and increase various forms of pollution.” (NRDC) “This method consumes finite resources without replenishing them, including the very resources on which food production depends: healthy soil, clean water and fresh air.” (FoodPrint)

Consumers (YOU) are increasingly demanding to know what’s actually in food, asking who grew it and how it was produced. Check out the Environmental Working Group’s Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 guides that rank the most pesticide-laden produce and guide you in a healthier direction.   

When it comes to food, we live by the acronym FLOSN for our food choices. Here’s what it means:

Fresh. Food tastes best and has the highest nutritional value when it goes straight from farm to fork. Consuming fresh produce avoids harmful chemicals and preservatives.

Local. The average American meal travels an estimated 1,500 miles before consumption. When you buy from local farmers, demand for local products increases and emissions from food transportation decrease. Money spent on local products stays in your community, benefiting everyone.

Organic. To be certified organic, farmers cannot use substances that might harm or contaminate air, water or soil. Organic food puts soil and human health first by growing food truly naturally.

Seasonal. Buying in-season means you purchase, cook, and eat produce harvested at its peak, and often grown closer to home. It simultaneously benefits health, soil, environment and wallets.

Nutritious. Nutrient-rich food provides your body with the diversity of vitamins, minerals, proteins, and other nutrients humans need to remain healthy, function properly, maintain energy and thrive.

Turning Green has put FLOSN practices to work in our Conscious Kitchen program. Conscious Kitchen partners with schools to shift the paradigm around food service, working to replace processed pre-packaged school food with healthier chef-prepared scratch-cooked meals for elementary and middle school students. Check out our video here for a glimpse into this revolutionary program.