the toxicity of food
Back during WWI and WWII the American government promoted “Victory Gardens” to reduce the pressure on public food supply. The gardens were also considered a “morale booster” by enabling the citizen to feel empowered by contributing to the war effort. This movement even found its way to Eleanor Roosevelt and the White House grounds. Today, we are not so far from needing the same types of benefits harvested from gardening way back then. Not only are there many concerns over the viability of nutrients and the toxicity of the food supply that winds up on the dinner table of families across the nation, but there is a benefit financially and there is also the great benefit of the physical activity. Victory Gardens – what a great concept!
Let’s talk about food and why growing your own is so great and why buying from super stores is not. Toxicity – there is no way to know what kinds and the quantity of pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and artificial preservatives that are used to get that “fresh looking” piece of broccoli to your table. If the broccoli were wilting, inevitably it would not be purchased for consumption so the corporations take measures. The extent to which the measures are taken to get foods across the country and to your table before it loses its freshness is a game the big corporation’s play. In order to win that game and have you buy their product, they rely on chemicals to treat the foods. Broccoli covered with chemicals = the ingestion of free radicals = cancer, sickness, diseases, ailments…the list goes on and on. The human body is incapable of ridding itself of the chemicals ingested. If you grow your own food you have the option to not treat it with chemicals and to pick it when it is fresh and deliver it directly to your kitchen for preparation. Broccoli = broccoli and all its nutrients, chemical free!
What about the cost savings achieved with growing your own food vs. purchasing it. After an initial investment in cultivating the garden site and then the purchase of the seeds/plants, the savings incurred for the initial year and every year thereafter cannot be ignored. Especially in our current economy.
Another benefit is the required physical movement and activity needed for gardening. Yes, a garden requires a person to pull themselves away from the television set, the Blackberry, and the computer to dig, weed, sow, grow, pick, prune, and harvest. The body receives fresh air, sunlight and exercise! The body will move and perspire which helps drive out daily toxins and stressors. An exhausted body also rests much better and achieves a deep sleep a lot easier than a sedentary body. A physically active body also suffers from less depression and anxiety. The accomplishments achieved by nurturing a plant until it provides edible rewards are unmatched and can be a great way for a whole family to spend together. Gardening is great for your insides and your outsides!
Whether coming together with others and planting a community garden, or planting one for yourself and your family in your yard, the inner tranquility, calming effects and sense of satisfaction it provides can balance out the chaotic hustle and bustle of the disposable lives of today. Don’t be left behind and join the movement!
To forget how to dig the earth and to tend the soil is to forget ourselves.
– Ghandi