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Did you know that October 16th is World Food Day? As part of a world wide action, Climate Mama is pleased to join in on Blog Action Day, to get us all thinking about and talking about the food we eat, grow and in many cases – take for granted.
Grab the kids in your life and watch this short video from our friends at Green Ninja.
In many developed countries, and particularly in North America, convenience has taken over from “reality” when it comes to our food choices. Whatever we want seem to be at our fingertips; either by simply making a phone call and ordering take out or by visiting a local supermarket, food seems to “magically appear”. Kiwi’s in December, check, bananas all year long, check, coconuts, shrimp, freshly caught Alaskan king salmon, check, check and check.
When you ask kids these days where their food comes from, the first response is often “the grocery store!” Yet according to the World Food Program, 1 in 7 people will go to bed hungry tonight. And the Food and Agricultural Organization tells us that: “925 million people do not have enough to eat and 98% of these people live in the developing world.” Our consumption patterns don’t mesh with supply.
A recent report by Forum For the Future tells us that we should expect major changes in the next 10 years for the consumer retail sector, including food. Demand for basic resources like oil, water and stable crops will increase significantly and prices will rise. The way we grow and access our food requires great outputs of energy, which is the major contributor to climate change. We need be much more considerate and thoughtful in our purchasing decisions today, so that our wise choices now, help to ensure a more sustainable future.
Open you fridge, take just one shelf and see if you and the kids in your life can identify where the food on that shelf came from? How much of it was grown or produced locally (within 100 miles of your house)? Take a few minutes today and consider where your food comes from. These types of questions and answers will make us all more sustainable consumers and better advocates for a more sustainable world!
Yours,
Climate Mama
