Food as Transformation
We must start to see our current food system for what it is.
The journey of eating real, whole food grown by farmers who cherish their land and soil, and ultimately the people they grow it for, reveals a magical world of interdependence and regeneration that is the very model spawning life itself.
When we eat agriculture that supports and nourishes the earth, we inevitably nourish and support ourselves. The more families, individuals and communities that eat and support regenerative agriculture, the more our world changes for the better.
It is so tempting, isn’t it, to go the easy way, or what you’ve been led to believe is the easy way. A big box store lined with shelves full of food with expiration dates. You’ll just pop in real quick and grab watermelon in December, Tomatoes in March and virtually any meat, bread or sugary treat you’d like, any time of the year. But what if there was another way?
What if you could begin to rely on local systems as a way to tune yourself with the earth AND what your body needs?
Eating with the seasons is medicinal. The vibrant colors and warming essence of squash in the fall helps to circulate blood and gather agni or qi in the lower centers for digestion. Deep greens from kale and cabbage, rich purple beets, sweet potatoes and other root vegetables help to ground us through the winter months. Then comes spring bursting with energy! We rise from slow, colder months popping out like sprouts, asparagus and peas. The dance is delicate from winter to spring exemplified by tender greens and the first sign of berries. Then we go tumbling into summer with bursting fruits, big sun-ripened crops full of energy and vibrancy.
A rhythm develops and before you know it, you are tuned with the Earth’s natural cycles of change and transformation. This creates a natural, and harmonious relationship with mother earth. Your choice to eat local, whole foods is reciprocated with more energy throughout the day and a sense of your surroundings, an orientation to where you are and who you are.
Food from nutrient-rich soil sends a signal of safety to the nervous system. Your nervous system is a master regulator of your brain and body systems. When our nervous system is regulated, we can think more clearly, make decisions, be more efficient with our timing, know when to rest and when to push, and the list goes on…like I said, it’s a master regulator. The act of giving the body real food that it really really needs, despite the ways we’ve “gotten by” on crap food, sends a message to your complex and beautiful systems that you are well, and on your way to more wellness.
In return for the health of your system, the farmer’s system is also nourished. You support the local farmers enabling them to take that money they’ve earned and invest in more soil, for more crops the following year. The yield grows and your family gains health.
No intention goes unnoticed. You will soon see that when your values shift towards supporting the abundance of mother earth, your life will too have more abundance. Bad habits fall away, pesky health issues fall away and your pockets get bigger. This is what happens when we create balance in our lives through something foundational like food.
Food security is the most predictable with regenerative agriculture. Health Security is the most predictable with Regenerative Agriculture. The implications of industrial agriculture from water use, to lethal chemical pesticides and herbicides, to over irrigating soil are the pillars for a sick and vulnerable nation. And how many times a day do we hear about Climate Change? Well what do you know, we can actually take action around something. A total win-win in my book too. Activism that involves delicious food? Sign me up. Regenerative Biodynamic Agriculture works with the intelligence of nature, not against it. It is a system that is symbiotic with the Earth. It does not own and conquer her.
Consumers decide how we continue to live in our world. Every day you have the choice to eat for the transformation or for decemation. Do not let food be merely a substance that you consume for energy, but let it represent your personal transformation and your dedication to wholeness. Let it represent your surrender to the intelligence of mother earth and let it consume you with beauty.
Food and the connections I make when gathering, preparing, cooking and eating is smack dab in the center of what I consider to be “The Good Life.” When a bite of tender salted pastured chicken hits my mouth, I want to taste the earth. Corn on the Cobb, tell me your story, through my cells to my children and to their children. It’s delicious message is in the power of working with, not against, our planet and neighbors.