(warning: no naked chicks in this diary)
Dear OrangeClouds,
I'm sorry I didn't take the opportunity to tell you this in person at YearlyKos. But since I keep noticing ways in which your "Forging Links to An Alternative Food Chain" panel has influenced my daily choices, I thought I should let you know how much I appreciated the session.
OK, I'll admit that the panel was on my radar ever since I read your diary YearlyKos: We Won't Swallow the Crap the GOP Feeds Us Anymore. How can you not get excited with a title like that?!
My sister joined me in attending the session. Although we had both been looking forward to it, it still somehow managed to exceed my expectations. And your panel had me scribbing furiously in my notebook more than any other.
From Tom Philpott, I gained an appreciation for the far-reaching impact of past farm bills, and the state that they've left our food infrastructure in. He gave me a lot of good suggestions for learning and doing more in areas of food security and community-supported agriculture. And I'm going to be checking out his Victual Reality columns from now on.
Marion Nestle blew me away. How someone can know so much about food, nutrition, public health and agribusiness economics is beyond me. But she had a way of making it easy for even me to understand. She was also great in helping the audience understand an underlying cause of these problems: with our current food production in the US - plus imports, less exports - we have 3900 calories available per person per day. No wonder corporations are continually finding new ways to make us eat, and why only junk is available to millions of Americans.
And Kerry Trueman explained the role of food in our everyday lives in a very engaging way. I'm going to be checking out Eating Liberally regularly for ideas on how I can make better choices. She really summed up the theme of the panel by noting that "Eating is a political activity, whether you know it or not." And her comment that you can get more mileage from a plant-based diet than from driving a Prius really made an impression on me - call it "food for thought" ;-)
Sis had been raving about Michael Pollan's book, The Omnivore's Dilemma. So when you said that it was your best read of the year (aside from Marion Nestle's What To Eat), I could read the writing on the walls: I'm off to the library to check it out.
The thing I especially love about the format of YearlyKos is being able to get away from the computer and meeting rooms and see ideas put into action. This panel was no exception - we had a great visit on Sunday to the Growing Power urban farm in the heart of Grant Park. How cool to see a garden that is both productive and beautiful. And based on the discussion on liberal dining, my friends had made a reservation at the Green Zebra for Monday night. I'm still in awe at how amazing vegetables can taste!
So thank you - and all the session organizers and panelists - for increasing my awareness of the food situation, for so clearly connecting it to today's political environment, and for suggesting specific actions on how we can all make a better difference. I'm committed to watching your diaries more closely, and to "voting with my fork" to help change food and farm policies. As you explained in your introductory remarks, food is truly a strategic issue. If we can bring change here, we can bring change to many other areas along with it.
Yours,
eph89