Desert - My Freewrite
We can live in the middle of the city and still live in a desert - a food desert! do you know what that is? it is usually a place where poor people live. Because poor people have no money - duh. so, fancy markets are not going to build fancy buildings in the poor neighborhoods since there aren't enough people to pay for the fancy prices. What is there? Mostly convenience stores that sell chips and soda and probably cigarettes. What else does a person need? Oh, right. Icecream and alcohol. No matter what kind of neighborhood - those items seem to be readily available. And fast food! Yes, more fried chicken and empty calorie burgers. whey not. People will buy it and then, there is all the waste in packaging and such.
Produce? That is a luxury item in many neighborhoods. You might have to take a many hour bus ride to be able to get to the fresh stuff. And who has the time or the will to do that? Not that many.
In so many areas, the poorer the people, the bigger the body - filled to the brim with empty calories that do not take care of the hunger. it is so easy to say - just eat healthier and exercise more. Maybe it is n't safe to exercise. To go out and walk. Many neighborhoods are not safe and the parents will tell their kids to stay inside. Because they care about their children. Watch TV. Don't move, don't make a mess. Because nobody has any energy left to take care of more. Life is too much already.
Lol!! " A FOOD DESSERT" but not a Sahara Desert😋
Actually, not a dessert - a desert with no healthy food in sight. Only junk food. For areas like that, the official name is a food desert.
It's a real thing man. People having their food carted in from God knows where, grown in a weird mix of dirt and chemicals, not soil. Not knowing any part of the process of sustaining their life.
A lot of times, it's illegal for people to make their own food. So much for the right to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
Yes, I have noticed this in our stores and despaired in the outlandish prices of healthy food.
Seeds are cheap though. It's an encouraging paradox: the food is expensive, but the seeds are cheap. It wouldn't take 15 minutes a day for someone to grow a patch of okra, corn, or squash.
Yes, I miss living where we could grow our own vegetables. I think next year I will use some pots and grow some tomatoes on cucumbers and maybe even squash in the back.
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It is really crazy! For most, being healthy is not a choice. The environment has 95% to do with the status of health of a person.
I totally agree. It's a shame it's so expensive to most people.
Excellent post @mariannewest , today's announcement made a lot of noise in my interior, my country is drying like a desert, many people emigrating and leaving their homes ...Regards
I know about that and I am so sad. I surely hope that the ones remaining can make a living for themselves. Crazy politics are causing all of that - of many countries.
Preach, sister!
Man, what if a few individuals spent $5 on seeds from Walmart and grew a small vegetable patch at every home in the "projects?" How much could life change for so many people?
How about if our government made one less bomb and put that $250,000 towards making a few food forests somewhere?
Get people involved in their food! Let people know what they're eating and where it comes from! Our system is disheartening, but the solutions are simple and the ideas are spreading. Just like those folks you had on the podcast with the stirring water stuff. The Italian lady with all the ideas and the network. Their Great American Seed Up is an awesome and disruptive idea! Actually, I need to get in touch with them and see about hosting a franchise. That sounds like the kind of revolution that can make the world a much better place.
and this one
https://www.ted.com/talks/ron_finley_a_guerilla_gardener_in_south_central_la
and let's buy the seed from an independent company, not Walmart LOL
Lol I know, but seeds from Walmart would be a big step in the right direction. Not ideal of course, but progress. That's how we got started this year. Next year we're going heirloom non-gmo on no-dig beds. One step at a time :)
It is a start!!! And you are doing great!
Gah! Where do you find these things? That dude is a hero! I'm gonna plant things in our easement now. Would he a badass place for bees and blackberry bushes so the kids won't mess with them. I wonder how they'd feel about that.
I don't get how it's illegal to plant a damn peach tree!!! In a place that's not being used! Marianne! How did we get here?!
Geurilla gardening! 😂 What an awesome idea.
I know - how the heck did we get there? That is why I love permaculture, the homesteading movement, food justice and all those who want to make sure that everyone eats - not just the rich...
Yes! I've actually decided that as our little homestead gets going we'll add a part that'll be open to the public. Even something small could be used to make a difference.
Food prosperity will lead to financial prosperity too. Like I tell my kids all the time: food is money. Wasting food is wasting money. Just the same, extra food can be extra money. Applying simple economics to a home garden could be awesome for anyone that aims to sustain themselves.
Great plan!!
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check out this one
https://www.ted.com/talks/pam_warhurst_how_we_can_eat_our_landscapes
YES!
That's perfect! They just did it! No permission, no white paper, just ACTION! I love it! That kind of thing makes me excited.
Thanks so much for the inspiration tonight! I just bought you 5 shares in SBI.
Wow!! Thank you so much! I am excited that you are excited about all of this - and that you are taking your kids along on this journey! Thank you!
Hey @mariannewest,
LOVE your food desert freewrite. It's a tough poverty and healthy food nut to crack but community gardens, indoor, vertical and other innovative inner city gardening approaches will help to heal and balance this issue.
Thanks for raising awareness about it and being a model for food self-sufficiency others can be inspired by and follow.
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Thank you!! For sure, there are solutions being explored and a lot of people really want to do something. So far, it is all small potatoes - but every effort counts!
I am dreaming of a day where the idea of the Village at Davis is being widely adopted and that every apartment building is planted with all edibles for people to pick - and that people know what to do with all that produce...
I live in the city so there's plenty for those who can afford.
And so true that healthy costs a pretty penny.
Eating out at the stalls, food cooked with lots of oil and msg is affordable. haha
It's a sad state but we are so used to it, I think most people don't even give it any thought.
Malaysia, by the way is No.1 for Obesity in the region.
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