"Harvest for Hope A Guide to Mindful Eating"
By Jane Goodall with Gary McAvoy and Gail Hudson.
Published 2005 by Warner Books. 296 pages.
Everybody has to eat, and they trust that the food they eat will be good for them. Sadly, this is no longer the case, as Jane Goodall points out in her newest book.
Goodall is renowned for her work in Africa with chimpanzees; now she takes a look at how big business has co-opted and corrupted our food supply while providing hope that we can create a more sustainable system.
At one time, people produced their own food, or purchased it from a local farmer. Nowadays, most people do not know where their food came from, or what methods were used to produce it. Huge agribusinesses took over food production in the United States that "put economic return above human and environmental health," claims Goodall.
Writing in an anecdotal style that is never dry nor overly technical, Goodall traces the takeover of our food production by multinational businesses. It began after World War II when monoculture farming was introduced - planting acre after acre with the same crop. It became vitally important to farmers that this one crop succeed as they had no other crop to fall back on, and farmers turned to an increasing use of pesticides. As the long-term damaging side effects of pesticide use to both human health and the environment of the planet became evident, public outrage forced agribusiness to come up with an alternative.
Goodall believes that technology - the genetically modified organism or GMO -will also have disastrous consequences. The goal with GM crops is to change the genetic coding so that the crops become resistant to pests and to particular brands of herbicides. The first biotech crop went to market in 1994. Today, according to Goodall, the United States is the world's top producer of GM foods: 81 percent of its soy, 40 percent of its corn, and 73 percent of both canola and cotton.
No long-term studies have been done on the effect these foods have on human health. Other countries are highly suspicious of GMOs and are watching American children to see if there are any long-term effects. "The children of America have now become the world's lab animals," says Goodall.
The Canadian and U.S. governments have refused to require mandatory labeling of genetically altered products so consumers are not even aware that they are eating them. Goodall's book provides a website that lists all the brand names that contain GM foods and those that don't. Visit True Food Network at www.truefoodnow.org.
Big business also became involved in the raising of animals for food. Goodall looks in horror at the large-scale intensive method of raising animals on "factory farms." She writes of the "ancient compact" man once had with animals - in return for man caring for them, they would provide sustenance for man. That compact is horribly broken as animals are kept in overcrowded pens, pumped full of growth hormones and antibiotics, and then slaughtered in cruel assembly lines. They are no longer considered sentient creatures but "products" says Goodall, who has dedicated her book to "the billions of farm animals held in torment around the world" as well as to the thousands of small farmers "who are valiantly struggling to survive" against multinational corporations with their cheaper products bought at such a cost to human health.
How can the consumer change any of this? By hitting the multinationals in the pocketbook, suggests Goodall. Every time we refuse to purchase their products, instead opting for organically raised animals and produce, we unravel the system.
Interest in organic foods is increasing. In 1997, the U.S. had 1.2 million acres of land devoted to organic farming; by 2001, that number had almost doubled to 2.3 million. Organic foods are now part of a multibillion-dollar industry that is growing by 20 to 25 percent per year. Seeing a profit to be had, big business has also jumped on the organic bandwagon. Goodall writes of the difference between shallow organic methods and deeper organic. Shallow organic farming, which the big corporations practice, may not use insecticides or GMOs, but still plants monocultures that rely on subsidized water and fossil fuels for long-distance hauling. Deep organic farmers create self-sustaining ecosystems, raise different types of plants and animals, and contribute to local food distribution.
Goodall promotes buying from local farmers, shopping at farmer's markets, or joining food co-ops. Jim Lucas, county director at the Michigan State University Extension-Chippewa County can provide information on buying local organic products by calling him at 906-635-6368. Anthony Stackpoole at 906-635-7272, or Judy Smith at 906-635-9056, are membership coordinators for the local Beautiful Leaf Food Co-op, or go online at www.naturalfarms.org for more information. Glen's Market in Sault Ste. Marie devotes an aisle to organic products and carries some organic produce.
This is a life-changing book and has been nominated for the Books for a Better Life Award. Goodall encourages us to use every food purchase as a vote. By doing so, we can change the world - one purchase, one meal, one bite at a time. In so doing, writes Goodall, we sow the seeds of a harvest for hope.
