So what does farming have to do with the current health care crisis?

By Karen

I should probably tell you off the bat to just go watch the movie, King Corn. Even if you think you already know everything there is to know about the food system issue and are a huge Michael Pollan or Barbara Kingsolver fan. If you haven’t seen it already go watch it. It’s an easy watch, done by a couple of college graduates fresh from the books and it is what has inspired me to write this blog this morning. The movie says it all, and you can probably find it at your local video store, or better yet buy it on line. But I will go on because this is probably the most important key to our current insurance and health crisis that no one in our government seems to be looking at.  So even though I want you to go and watch the movie, (should I say it one more time? Go watch, KING CORN !) http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/kingcorn/film.html ) I also want you to take action in your own life.

This is the reason why we are having this festival in the first place. (see http://festivelylocal.com)  Not only do we want to support the development of our local food system by supporting the nonprofits we are supporting and buying ingredients from local farmers, the key to all of it is to engage young people. It is my hope that in the back drop of great music, food and the arts, we will all create a conversation between groups of people that might not otherwise speak to one another. Please if you are attending, talk to someone who looks different from you. Whether it is a farmer talking to a rave fan, or a musician talking with any of the nonprofits or crafts folks who have booths. We need to talk. We need a greater dialog between young people and the real issue because this generation is the first generation that can expect to live a shorter life than their parents.

While I served as an AmeriCorps Vista with United Way of Williamson County a few years ago, I worked on a Fresh Foods for Families initiative as an obesity prevention project. The theory was (and still is) that if young people could have a garden and grow their own food they would become more connected and engaged to the food they ate and therefore eat healthier food. It was during the writing of this grant that I first became acquainted with the Food Security Partners of middle TN and the work they are doing to provide a more just food system.  It was also while at United Way that I learned of the amazing work that Oasis Center is doing and the kind of support that Youth Speak Nashville is giving its members. We need all generations to speak out and be heard. We need to be talking about how our people are dying from over processed empty calories, and at the core of this process lies the governmental policies that enable the food system to exit as we know it  today. And it is crushing small farmers and increasing profits for the “ food” industry which is selling us all these empty calories. This “food” lacks the density of nourishment that our forefathers had taken for granted.

If we all ate what our great grandparents ate we would not see the kind of rise in healthcare costs that we are seeing today. And so in closing in the words of Curt Elis:

“For the first time in American history, our generation was at risk of having a shorter lifespan than our parents. And it was because of what we ate.”

—Curt Ellis, KING CORN filmmaker

This should be the first topic in the health care discussions:  Why is our society dying from diseases caused by malnutrition?

Check out the discussion guides on the PBS website. Yeah the movie viewed last year, but the situation hasn’t changed and we need to revisit this movie along with current foodie stars like Food, Inc, http://www.foodincmovie.com/  and The Future of Food. http://www.thefutureoffood.com/

Come to our festival. Meet folks involved in making a change in our local food system. Find a farmer who grows real food, and above all have fun…. The good old fashion way with good food, good company, and good music under the stars. Do it for a good cause, our very lives and health may depend on it. We want you to survive, and thrive. Food security? What does that mean? Come and find out. If you can’t afford the low ticket price, talk to us. We can always use a good volunteer.

Comments

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There are too many factors that are related. Especially on what they use on crops and techniques being applied today.