Local Delicious

When I recently posted a video of police in the US raiding an organic food store with guns drawn, my first thought was “Oh look, the War on Raw Cheese has begun.” After all, those frightening organic grocers are a pretty deadly threat, don’t you think?

My second, less tongue-in-cheek thought was, “Yikes, if it happens there, someday it could happen here.” Yikes indeed. Turns out, it might not be someday, it might be next week.

Among other concerns, first Bill C-6 and now the new Bill C-36 give Health Canada unprecedented rights to literally enter private citizens’ homes and businesses with no legal safeguards for those citizens. What’s wrong with this picture? Even known drug lords are innocent until proven guilty.

I’ve always appreciated that we Canadians take a more reasoned, conservative approach to meddling with the affairs of our citizens. Or so I thought. Seems the reduction of civil liberties in the name of security may not be something we lament only for our neighbours to the south.

I want to have a choice about what goes into my body whether it’s water, food, or medicine. I’m bright enough to seek out options, I make choices, and I take the responsibility. My choice may not be your choice, but allowing it to be my choice is precisely the beauty that living in a democracy offers.

In my view, health regulations are meant to ensure I’m getting the truth about my options, not for someone to be forcing choices on me, without my having any recourse or external checks and balances.

I was recently asked by a reporter if I trust our health regulations. Well no, no I don’t. Not unreservedly. I mean, it was perfectly legal to put unhealthy goop on movie popcorn for decades until the public got wind of what it actually contained and raised a ruckus. Right? And it took the action of private citizens to bring the truth about cigarettes to light, didn’t it? (And still we have choice about cigarettes.)

I don’t know all the in’s and out’s about the new proposed Health Canada legislation (Bill C-36) but it’s worth learning more before it quietly passes into law.

National Health Products Protection Association
Health Canada Exposed
Shiv Chopra, Health Canada Whistleblower

I do know that we need to maintain our right to choice and our right to due process. Giving any government organization the right to operate above the law is a recipe for disaster. And it’s not democracy.

There are many ways to support an Eat Local habit.

If you really want to go crazy, you can try a zero mile diet, a backyard garden. Or in some cases, the two block diet or the 5 ½ block diet (my choice, since that’s how far my community garden plot is).

More likely — and a lot less work — feeding your Eat Local addiction could be buying produce or preserves at a farmers market or craft fair. It might be supporting a local food retailer or buying via a CSA program (community supported agriculture) or food co-op.

Or even more simply, it could be as effortless as checking the label at the supermarket, and choosing products with a tell-tale red, Made in Canada maple leaf on the package.

Announcing the Look at the Label Campaign

Really, it’s not a big deal. You don’t have to sign a placard or worse, carry a placard. To be part of the Look at the Label Campaign, you just have to, well…look at the label. Find out how far your food has traveled to reach you, and choose options that are produced nearer to home. While you’re at it, you can look for additional benefits.

• Look at the labels in the produce section to find out where your fruit and veggies come from, then choose the ones from closest by and grown with the best farming practices. Choosing items that are currently in season will help support your local farmers year round.
• Read the labels in the bakery to find out which goods were made locally and which were shipped a great distance. If they’ve come a long way and have a long shelf life they’ll have had to be pumped full of preservatives. Real food, the kind with nutritional value, will rot. Pseudo food, does not.
• Examine the labels in the sauces and canned goods aisles. I’ll bet you can find the lots of local sources for your favourite flavours amidst the dizzying array of options.
• Check out the labels in the coffee and tea aisles. I can’t find coffee that’s grown nearby, but that doesn’t mean I’m giving it up! I can, however, choose locally roasted and/or fair trade beans that give farmers a living wage.
• Definitely look at the label in the meat department. Nearby sources are good, organic and grain fed are even better. Meat and poultry are prime sources of secondhand pesticides, chemicals and pharmaceuticals. Face it, eventually, we eat what they’ve eaten.
• Be sure to check the label of eggs and dairy products both to ensure the animals have been raised humanely, and to be sure you know what you’re eating. For example, “frozen dessert” instead of “ice cream” on a label is code for “made with petroleum by-products,” which is just gross.

Michael Pollan said it best when he described his rules for buying food. If the ingredients are not something you would find in your grandmother’s pantry, don’t put it in your mouth.

Industrialized food production is a hot topic these days as more and more people learn the truth about what, exactly, is going into their mouths.

Typically we think of industrialized food as mega farms that produce miles and miles of the same crop year after year using chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Or factory farms housing thousands of cattle, chickens or pigs in close quarters that are fed growth hormones and antibiotics.

But what about water? If you buy bottled water, there’s an excellent chance it was pumped by the hectolitre out of some municipality’s ground water, at little or no cost to the bottling company, without thought for the impact to the local urban and agricultural community, then shipped a lengthy distance to a shop near you by one of only a handful of huge multinational companies who pretty much control the industry.

Hmmm, if that’s not the industrialization of water, I’m not sure what to call it.

Note: If you’re still drinking bottled water in the mistaken belief it’s better for you, you may want to go easy on the promotional hype and brush up on the facts about bottled water.

Related posts:

Creative Answers to the Question of Water
Drink Local…Water, I Mean
Who Owns Your Water
Enjoy the Luxury of Local, Drinkable Water
More Benefits to Drinking Local Water
Bottled Water Isn’t Cool
Industrial vs. Artisan Farming
Organic Eggs and Factory Farming

A place where gardening, eating the fruit of your labours, and saving your seeds is illegal is some kind of bad, B-rated, Orwellian science fiction movie. Right?

Wrong! It’s being proposed in the United States (for real) and (you guessed it) agri-business is behind it. The industrialization of food isn’t just a bad 1950′s experiment that we can easily amend. Big, powerful and heavy handed corporations have sunk their teeth into the profits to be made by monopolizing supply. And they are not going to let go easily, consequences be damned.

If I hadn’t seen this news television clip, I’d be certain someone was pulling my leg with the whole idea.

I don’t like to think of myself as a conspiracy theory kind of wingnut, but what do you say when it starts looking like maybe the wingnuts have got it right? It’s pretty hard to dismiss the video footage as conjecture or fear mongering.

I’m stunned, frankly. The impact of this kind of legislation on individuals’ right to access quality food, and food security in general, is breathtaking. In the bad way.

Learn more about Survive and Thrive, as featured in the clip, and if you have a US vote, you may want to send it over to the Stop S 510 Campaign.

Not convinced that your ready access to quality food is under threat? How about a guns drawn police raid at your local organic grocer? Good grief, what is the planet coming to? Can’t win the War on Drugs? Then switch to a War on Cheese!

7 Compelling Reasons to STOP Drinking Bottled Water
by Mary Johnston, CEO watermatters
Reprinted with permission

Why on Earth is anyone still drinking water bottled in plastic?

Not only is it a potential health hazard and more expensive than gasoline, consuming water from plastic water bottles contributes to global warming, environmental pollution and the rampant privatization of water. David Suzuki has been warning us of the ecological damage of bottled water for years. With green practices becoming trendy, consuming bottled water is losing its glamour and quickly becoming a social taboo.

7 Compelling Reasons to Stop Drinking Bottled Water

#1   It’s Making Us Sick – Plastics Are Toxic

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET #1 plastic) is used for single serve plastic water bottles.
This type of water bottle has been approved for one-time use only. It has become common practice for many people to unknowingly re-use these plastic bottles. Studies show that bacteria easily breeds in PET plastic bottles when re-used and that re-use may cause DEHA, a carcinogen, to migrate from the plastic into water contained in the bottle. A new 2006 study revealed that significant levels of antimony, a toxic chemical, leaches into water sold in PET plastic bottles.

Bisphenal-A is a toxic compound found in polycarbonate (#7 plastic), the rigid, translucent, hard plastic used in 5 gallon water bottles. It is a hormone disruptor that mimics estrogen and is linked to early-onset puberty, declining sperm counts, obesity and the huge increase in breast and prostate cancer. Due to the alarming toxicity of this chemical, in March 2007 a billion-dollar class action suit was filed in Los Angeles against five leading manufacturers of baby bottles containing Bisphenal-A. BPA has been officially banned in Canada as of October 2010.

#2   It’s Expensive

The extortionate price of gas pales in comparison to bottled water. A litre (33.8 ounces) of tap water in Canada costs taxpayers an average of 0.0005 cents. A litre of bottled water sells between $0.50 and $6.00.That makes the markup on one litre of bottled water a whopping 1,000 – 12,000%.

#3   It’s Under-Regulated

More than 1/4 of bottled water consumed by Canadians is simply filtered tap water. In Canada tap water has to meet 160 standards compared to less than half a dozen for bottled water. In Canada bottled water is considered a ‘food product’ and is regulated under the Federal Food and Drug Act. Bottled water production facilities are only inspected every 2 – 3 years whereas regular drinking water operators are subject to the Canadian Water Quality Guidelines and must test and report on a regular basis.

Contrary to its claims of purity, bottled water is not immune to contamination. A recent US study indicated that 1/3 of all brands tested contained arsenic and/or E.coli and that ¼ of all bottled water was simply tap water sold at a significant profit In March 2007, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency warned the public not to consume imported Jermuk Classic Brand Natural Sparkling Mineral Water because it contained excessive levels of arsenic. In 2004, Coca-Cola recalled its entire Dasani line of bottled water in the UK due to toxic compounds formed in the water during the disinfection process. Learn more.

A two-year shelf life is considered acceptable for bottled water. There is no control over the change in the bottled water’s characteristics once it is bottled.

#4   It’s Polluting Our Planet

The pollution and energy consumption involved in the production, shipping and disposal of plastic bottles is staggering. “The production of one kilogram of PET plastic requires 17.5 kilograms of water and results in air pollution emissions of over half a dozen significant pollutants. In other words, the water required to create one plastic bottle is significantly more than that bottle will contain” says Rick Smith, Executive Director of Environmental Defense.

Plastics are the fastest growing form of municipal waste. They do not biodegrade. An estimated 88% of water bottles are not recycled. Our oceans, now littered with plastic, may be one of the most alarming of environmental concerns today. Most plastic floats near the sea surface where it is mistaken for food by birds and fishes. Through the global food chain, it is contaminating trillions upon trillions of ocean inhabitants and ultimately humans.

#5 Water Is Getting Scarce – Fast!

Severe drought is occurring in many regions around the globe with no sign of letting up. Meanwhile aquifers that can take hundreds of years to recharge have been depleted.

More than one billion people lack access to clean drinking water. Thirty-one countries face water scarcity and water sources are rapidly becoming polluted and depleted. By 2025, two-thirds of the world’s population will face water shortages. Learn more

Australia is experiencing its fifth consecutive year of drought. Permanent drought is predicted for the Southwestern U.S., much of which has been in severe drought since 2000. Seven American states and Mexico are competing for water from the already over-allocated Colorado River. China is also experiencing ongoing drought. 700 million Chinese lack reliable access to water suitable for human consumption. India is also deeply concerned about lack of water. Sections of Mexico City are sinking at a rate of 12 inches a year due to over-tapping aquifers that have been drained to supply the city’s population of 9 million with water.

Meanwhile ‘Big Water’ companies are buying access to and drying up aquifers that have traditionally supplied human populations, farms and ecosystems with water.

Current legislation in British Columbia allows companies (including non-Canadian companies) to extract up to 1,710,000 gallons of groundwater per day without a permit and ship it anywhere in the world providing it is in bottles less than 20 litres in size. BC communities, such as Valemont, are loosing their water to profiteering bottled water companies who can take our water with no accountability to the environment or local citizens! This is grossly incongruent with basic ethics, water shortages that are starting to occur within British Columbia and the urgent need to reduce carbon emissions around the globe.

#6 Privatizing Water Threatens a Human Right

Instead of working to help those without water, the world’s largest water corporations are seeking to privatize this precious resource, turning a public commons and a human right into a commodity. Learn more

Growing populations challenge aging water delivery systems that many local communities and governments cannot afford to update. ‘Big Water’ companies are moving in to take over public water systems in North America. They have plans to control 80% of the public water supply within the next few years. Paying grossly inflated prices for bottled water is intended to seduce us into accepting a transition from unlimited, affordable clean water for all to water becoming an expensive commodity owned and controlled by ‘Big Water’. We complain about gas prices. Why accept water prices that are even higher?

Disgracefully, Canada is the one country that has consistently voted against water as a human right at the World Water Forums in 2000, 2003 and 2006 and the 2002 UN Committee on Human Rights.

Meanwhile, more than 1/3 of the world’s population lives and dies without access to decent drinking water and sanitation.

Concerned groups, like the United Church of Canada, are taking a stand against bottled water on the moral grounds that water is a basic human right, not a commodity to be sold for profit.

#7 It’s No Longer Cool

Once a fashion trend, drinking bottled water will die in disgrace. Like the cigarette, once fashionable and now stigmatized, bottled water is on its way out. You know the story about the frog in the pot. Turn up the heat slowly and he won’t know he needs to get out. Don’t be caught in the heat.

Make the switch. The future of life on this planet depends on it. The new wave is health conscious and eco-friendly.

Say NO to bottled water.

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For more information and additional articles and resources, visit Your Water Matters.

Related posts:

Enjoy the Luxury of Local, Drinkable Water
Who Owns Your Water
Drink Local…Water I Mean
More Reasons to Drink Local Water
Have Your Say on Vancouver’s Drinking Water

Okay, let’s be realistic. Not everyone is willing to give up the convenience of bottled water. If I forget to take water with me or am overcome with sudden thirst, I sometimes give in and buy it myself.

And, not everyone takes the health concerns seriously or thinks their contribution of plastic amounts to much in the grander scheme of things.

You Can Lead a Horse to Water

Instead of trying to drag consumers kicking and screaming toward more earth-friendly practices, what if we came up with other solutions that make it easy for even the least health- or environmentally-conscious among us to drink more responsibly? Like Craig Zucker did.

Zucker came up with Tap’D NY: filtered, local tap water from New York, sold in New York. Since most bottled water is just unfiltered tap water anyway, and a number of brands are shipped half way around the world for North American consumption, it makes more than a whole lot of sense.

I love the idea.

• It’s just plain truthful. Forget the water, this alone is refreshing
• It’s cleaner than regular bottled water
• It racks up fewer frequent flyer miles
• You don’t have to use a drinking fountain in NYC that you aren’t sure is clean
• New Yorkers can stop feeling like idiots for buying water from a tap in Fiji that arrived on a freighter

So here’s a crazy idea: What if our city partnered with a truly local bottling company to create a profitable business that pumped money back into the municipal budget for things like upgrades to our water infrastructure? Wow, that’d be a novel, forward-thinking idea, wouldn’t it?

Related post:

Have Your Say on GVRD’s Drinking Water