Most people’s decision to eat a certain food is usually based on science, advertising, marketing, advice or a combination of these.  But it has not always been this way. Culture and tradition was how we originally chose food.  In other words, each generation passed their wisdom down to the next generation in terms of what was safe and nourishing to eat. How times have changed!

Traditional food choices can be very powerful for the sustainability of the planet.

I was reading a business website when I first discovered information about ‘The Law of Precession’. It stated that when an object is moving towards another body (because of gravity or because it is simply attracted to it), then at a right angle to the line of attraction - there is an equal if not greater result that is being generated.

A good example of this is a day in the life of the bee.  A bee goes to a flower in order to collect nectar; that is what it is attracted to. Inadvertently, the bee collects pollen on its legs then goes to the next flower and drops the pollen.  So the bee is attracted to the nectar but what is happening as a result of that attraction is propagation to all the plants in the world, so that we can have beauty, shade and food.

The same principle can be related to our food choices.  When we choose organic, local and nature based foods, such as; fruit, vegetables, eggs, meat, fish, chicken, nuts, seeds, legumes, grains, dairy, cocoa, herbs, spices and anything we can make with these basic foods, then what we affect is one of the most powerful things I know.

When we choose meat that has been organically farmed and has had a chance to roam and not be in feed lots, then we affect animal husbandry on a global scale. We say no to crowded feed lots, antibiotics and animals being treated badly.

Choosing organic free range chickens and their eggs is saying no to   the cruelty that is bestowed on many chickens living in crowded cages. And a way of saying no to the scheduled removal of beaks and any other inhumane chicken husbandry that
now occurs.

If we choose fruits and vegetables that have been bio dynamically or organically grown in our local area, then we not only affect our lands, but our water ways and carbon miles.  Since WWII many chemicals have been sprayed on lands around the world. This has not only affected the food we eat and our health, but also the land it is sprayed on, as well as the land’s ability to grow nutritious foods.  These chemicals in turn pollute our fresh and salt waterways and anything that lives in it.  When we choose local, then we reduce food miles, which in turn reduces carbon emissions.

Growing a plantar box full of herbs or having a vegetable garden is saying no to food miles, carbon emissions and spraying of chemicals on mass amounts of land.

When you choose to buy foods that have no packaging, or very little, then you reduce the amount of waste dumps around the world and precious resources such as trees. You also reduce the amount of   plastic that may end up in the ocean and in many majestic water ways.

The power of food choices go far beyond health, it helps the consumer and the planet. I believe that if everyone understood this concept, then we may think twice when we reach for a food that may satisfy our emotional needs but ultimately devastates our planet.


Happy Changing Habits
By Cyndi O’Meara
www.changinghabits.com.au