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From Food And Nutrition to a Sustainable Culture!
Chef Jem on the need to learn certain essential fundamentals for developing a "sustainable food system".
Date: 4/28/2010 8:27:30 PM ( 14 y ) ... viewed 1377 times Even though the subject of nutrition is undoubtedly very popular nowadays I regard real nutrition (as well as nutritional thinking) as something uncommon, something that is very special and even sacred! (I can elaborate on this as needed.)
Since 1973 I have often thought of getting educated, certified and officially "blessed" in the mainstream world of nutrition however since 1976 I realized that the "orthodox way" was not my path! (I can elaborate on this if need be.)
IMO - there is essentially only one thing of interest to people about "nutrition" and if you guessed "food" then you got it! Nutrition may be "in" but the actual food that people are eating now (especially all forms of "fast food") is way more "in"! I have never heard anyone ever say "I am hungry for some nutrition". Or, "would you like to come over tonight to share some nutrition with me?". That kind of relating (in all regards) is virtually non existent.
For me food is very much equated with and as nutrition. My nutrition is enjoyed as delicious food! That's what makes Chef Jem Chef Jem! I naturally think of enjoying good nutrition (in the form of food); that all my food nourishes me and that food is not something to entertain/distract me, control me, control others and or dozens of other usages why other people may eat what they eat (and, as someone just reminded me, including as a substitute for sex).
What do you consider to be food and what is food to you?
I believe this is an important question that needs to be asked everyone of us and most especially all who want to consciously co-create a sustainable food system. Before we can jump on any "band wagons" bearing the banner of "sustainable food systems" then there are a few elementary things to consider. The first (IMO) is what is food? When consensus is reached (in small planning groups) on what food is then we need to consider what a "food system" is and finally what is a "sustainable food system".
In consideration on what is food I would suggest that the conversation deserves to include a history of food. What have traditional cultures used as food? I would especially recommend looking at cultures who have been recognized as having exceptional health. That would tell us that their dietary foods not only kept them alive but helped them to flourish, possibly reaching their genetic potential! (Something that our conventional wisdom does not know.) A most excellent reference that documents this very thing is a book by Dr. Weston A. Price called: "Nutrition and Physical Degeneration". Ideally this would be one of the essential reading requirements for those who participate in conversations with the intention of consciously co-creating local sustainable food systems. Why read such a book? If we are taking on leadership of local food systems then we need to know what food is, what foods nourish us as well as what "foods" deplete us and this book is a true foundation in acquiring that knowledge! We also need the beginnings of some true wisdom to discern what truly nourishes people. This book is not only most highly recommended for advocates of local sustainable food systems, it has been called essential reading for all health practitioners!
Food Systems:
We need to know what a local food system is. Dr. Price had a mission of finding isolated groups of people who had not been exposed to the modern day food systems with their "displacing foods". He found a number of these groups and each of them had their own food "system" that provided the groups with the foods that so very well nourished them! His book "Nutrition and Physical Degeneration" can also be read with the purpose of discovering these different food systems.
Sustainable:
Learning what has been successfully sustainable will inspire us in creating modern day sustainability. The findings of Dr. Price give foundational indications of what sustainability is. Sustainability can include farming but it is so much more than the simple idea of having local farms. Sustainability needs to be looked at as a condition of a whole society rather than from within the conventional limitation of "food". The conventional thinking about "food" does not include sustainability. From that context sustainability goes beyond food. Even when we think of a term like "sustainable food system" we need to think beyond how we "normally" think of food. It might be more advantageous to think in terms of a "sustainable culture".
One answer to the very first and essential question I've posed above: "what is food" is the first food: milk! It is also a large part of of the answer to the question re: "sustainable food system" if we look at milk that is produced directly for humans rather than for a milk processor. The milk processor requires pasteurization. The following article by Mark McAfee reveals "... 15 Things that Pasteurization Kills" like no other articloe has ever revealed!:
http://mercola.fileburst.com/PDF/5%201_addt%27l%20McAfee_The%2015Things%20tha...
After reading Mark's piece, here's a New York Times article on Dean Pierson:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/04/nyregion/04towns.html
You have to read Mark's article to see how pasteurization can kill farmers.
Culture: "The government's demonization of saturated fats is as bogus as its war on terror and its demonization of CO2. Unfortunately however, less people are aware of the fraudulent demonization of saturated fat and cholesterol, and people are rationing the very foods they need to be healthy and to maintain mental functions. This has also devastated the rural economy, disconnected consumers from the farming community, and, since food is a key part of our culture, this fraud has diluted our culture and social co-operation. Indeed, most of our psychological dysfunction's can be blamed on poor gut flora and poor nutrition."
http://www.davidicke.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1058657766
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