We have a great community garden program here in Vancouver, BC but there are always more people who want to garden than there are available plots. I’d love to see more people with land share it with the people who want to garden. If you’re interested, check out Sharing Backyards.

Find more inspiring videos at KarmaTube.org.

“I visited a dairy farm, a mill/bakery, and a busy marina, all on Vancouver Island, and all within my 100-mile radius. I also spent time in the kitchen with Tina Biello, a busy working gal who makes time for her food, from growing her own veggies to learning about the production of local food for her favourite family recipes,” says animator Jody Kramer. “My film will make you feel hungry.”

The 100-Mile Diet Society and the Centre for Sustainable Food Systems at UBC Farm have joined forces to explore how sustainable agriculture can help reduce climate change and nurture the environment.

I love the quick, bite size snacks of information I get from the GOOD Magazine YouTube channel and, despite the fact that I too am guilty of letting food rot in the refrigerator, I come away from this clip feeling more motivated to avoid waste than bad for my occasional lapse.

I don’t know about you, but as kids we were reminded to think of all the starving kids in Africa, whenever we didn’t want to finish our dinner. One kid from school who got powdered milk in her lunch used to perform a solemn ritual each day, pouring it down the toilet and reciting with due respect, “God bless all the children in Africa” while flushing it away with a flourish.

I really can’t blame Mauvereen (really, it’s nasty stuff). In fact, maybe in her honour we could pause to consider the local hungry kids — and the ones in Africa — before we toss out that barely bruised banana.

This one, on drinking water, describes the health impact of contaminated water sources and notes how easy it can be to clean it up. It really makes me wonder why this is still such an issue in developing countries when the downside is so devastating.

Check out other Local Delicious posts for more on water issues:

Drink Local…Water I Mean
Who Owns Your Water
Enjoy the Luxury of Local, Drinkable Water
The Switch From Bottled Water

I can’t vouch for the source of the info, but even if it’s only half or even a quarter true it’s still going to make you stop and contemplate where your water is coming from, how it got to you, and what’s going to happen to the container it came in when you’re done.

Water Disaster

Drori’s presentation is a brief but powerful reminder that we are losing our biodiversity very quickly and that projects such as the Millennium Seed Bank are a must if we expect to one day undo some of the damage we’ve done to this planet.

Current financial crises are affecting initiatives worldwide, and the Millennium Seed Bank is no exception. The Reuters report headline Seed bank for the world threatened by financial crisis from earlier this year sums it up.

“A third of the planet’s plants are categorized as threatened with extinction, which could have dramatic effects on human life, trade and the environment.”

It’s about needing to use sustainable practices because eating local means the land has to feed us for generations. It’s about shipping food less thereby reducing our carbon footprint. It’s about improved taste and variety. It’s about knowing where my food comes from, what it’s made of, and not putting things in my mouth that have names I cannot pronounce.

And, it’s a host of other, somewhat vague concerns about what our food practices are doing to the places where we get that food.

It was vague, that is, until I watched The Story of Stuff. Embedded in this smart, fast-paced video is the information that gets buried and muffled in economic and international policy jargon, but that we all need to know.

It’s easy to watch, easy to follow, easy to understand. And instead of leaving you wondering what to do, it’ll make you feel like a more empowered consumer with an incentive to start making smarter choices.

This is an exposé that we all need to see. See the full video at The Story of Stuff, or catch a sneak preview below…

Does it make sense that perfectly nutritious produce is tossed out — at the farmers’ expense — because it’s not the “perfect” shape? (What exactly is the perfect shape for a potato, anyway, and just who decides?)

How about the new, trendy Zero Grazing milk production? That’s just a fancy term for cows that never see the light of day, feel the warmth of the sun, or eat fresh grass, all in the name of optimal, “cheap” milk production.

The mega grocery store chain you likely shop from wants hardy, easy to ship produce, taste be damned. And that means farmers either produce it, or find another career. Part II of the Supermarket Secrets exposé is just as insightful as the first. Warning: it is also not for the faint of heart.

See Supermarket Secrets I.

Do not watch this UK exposé, Supermarket Secrets, unless you are ready to face some nasty facts about the foods you buy at the neighbourhood grocery megamart. Thankfully, I’ve already sworn off frozen, pre-made dinners — they are disgusting.

Not sure I’ll be buying chicken anytime soon…

While many viewers, judging from comments on the CBS website, take issue with her “arrogance” (personally, I don’t see it), I think she’s been a very successful advocate in raising awareness and standards of what constitutes good tasting, quality food . And, as with any cause, it’s only when someone steps into the limelight that the general public hears about it. (Uhm, was mainstream media interviewing Ms. Waters all the years she sweating in the kitchen?)

Does the 60 Minutes clip tell the whole story? No. Can any sound byte do that? No. Does it spread the word? Yes.

If people are talking — even if they are arguing — at least there is dialogue. Frankly, I think it’s great that there is some controversy, it just helps give the topic more airplay.

Check it out for yourself and feel free to send us your comments…