Start the “Movement”

“Once our personal connection to what is wrong becomes clear, we have to choose. We can go on as before, recognizing our dishonesty and living with it the best we can, or we can begin the effort to change the way we think and live.” – Wendell Berry

With “The Zero-Mile Diet: A Year-Round Guide to Growing Organic Food”, Carolyn Herriot’s greatest hope is to kickstart a movement: the “grow your own food” movement. As Herriot says, it is important to “make sure your neighbour is fed”, because when they are fed, you will have greater food security too. While most of us are detached from our food and the soil its springs from, the modern industrialized model of growing food has an impact that can be measured. Where our food used to be grown in healthy soil and ripened by the sun, it is now grown in depleted soil that is filled with a high level of pesticides. This means that many of the products we currently consume are low in phytonutrients, which are essential nutrients for good health and originate from the plant. It only takes a small step to begin, maybe a container plant of tomatoes, or even something larger that can feed the whole family. With this, the seed of sustainability is sown and the idea of food security becomes more achievable. After all, it is only the individual who can liberate food from the vise grip of industrialization and increase the quantity that is grown and consumed locally from 5% to something more substantial. “The Zero-Mile Diet” can represent the first step in changing the way that we think and look at food, and, in the long run, it can change the way that we live. Come hear Carolyn speak in person about her vision and passion for this movement on Saturday, July 10th at 2:30 at the main stage of the Organic Islands festival.

A tomato recipe for you:

Salsa Fresca

1 cup (250 mL) tomatoes (cherry or salad tomatoes are best)
¼ cup (60 mL) onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp. (5 mL) jalapeno, seeds removed and minced
3 Tbsp. (45 mL) fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1 lime, juiced
Salt and pepper to taste

Whirl the tomatoes in a food processor until coarsely chopped. Add the rest of the ingredients and leave to marinate. Stain off liquid and freeze as ice-cube-tray cubes or in plastic tubs. Perfect for the winter munchies.

Thank you to Carolyn Herriot and Harbour Publishing for recipes and information from “The Zero-Mile Diet: A Year-Round Guide to Growing Organic Food.” You can attend the book launch on July 10th, 2010 at 2:30 PM at the Organic Islands Festival in Victoria, BC.

Tags: education, Food, Local, Organic, Sustainable