Suggestions from Thomas F. Pawlick's book, "The End of Food," on how to avoid the products of a dysfunctional agriculture industry
Readers of Thomas F. Pawlick’s book, “The End of Food: How the Food Industry is Destroying Our Food Supply – And What You Can Do About It” (2006, GreyStone Books) don’t have to despair after reading his well researched account of today’s dysfunctional agriculture and food industry. Pawlick offers many suggestions for eating well by bypassing industrial food, strategies he refers to as “acts of subversion.”
Among Pawlick’s suggestions:
- Grow your own produce. If you don’t have a backyard, plant in pots on your balcony, start a “wading pool garden” on your rooftop, or start a community garden in your condo complex or city neighborhood.
- Reject the industrial agriculture model. Plant heirloom seeds prized for their flavor and nutrition, use compost to feed your soil, and choose organic gardening methods over chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
- Preserve your produce for the off-season. Learn how to freeze, home-can or dehydrate fruits and vegetables so you don’t have to rely on industrial agriculture when your garden no longer produces.
- If you can’t grow your own, buy fruits and vegetables from community supported agriculture (CSA), become a regular at your local farmer’s market or track down family farms in your area from which you can buy directly.
- Use grassroots power to effect change. Boycott food companies that hurt the environment, lead campaigns against genetically modified crops in your county, or take back political muscle by running for local office.
- Honor and savor food for the cultural and social benefits it bestows, rather than treat it likely something to be devoured as quickly as possible so we can get on with the rest of our lives. Food, Pawlick reminds us, is life.
The copyright of the article Acts of Subversion in Green/Simple Living is owned by Shirley Siluk Gregory. Permission to republish Acts of Subversion must be granted by the author in writing.
