The Dangers of Being Disconnected from Our Food Sources
I have a friend who teaches preschool and kindergarten. She was working with some children on an activity that had a photo of a whole carrot, freshly pulled from the ground. Two of the children had no idea what it was because they had only ever seen the bagged baby carrots from the grocery store. They literally didn’t recognize a carrot in its natural state.
Sadly, this story isn’t that unusual as Americans have become increasingly disconnected from their food sources. Although some areas of the country have enjoyed a resurgence of gardening and homesteading, the nation as a whole has no connection to their food’s cultivation and processing.
This disconnect is dangerous, and it is one of the driving forces behind our mission at The Mermaid’s Garden. We want to flip the narrative from one of confusion and barriers to one of connection and openness. Through our regenerative farm practices and our healing retreat center, we can offer rootedness and relationship with our food, our land, and ourselves.
The Shift from Growing to Buying
In 1916, the first Piggly Wiggly opened in Memphis, TN. This “modern marvel” mainly offered dry goods and revolutionized the way people accessed their food and groceries. Before the advent of the Piggly Wiggly, general stores existed to stock items such as sugar and fabric. For the most part, people grew or raised everything else they needed for food.
At the general store, customers would hand their list to the shopkeeper, and he or she would gather all the items. (Let’s be honest, though. It was almost always “he.”) The Piggly Wiggly changed all that by establishing the “self-serve” concept of grocery shopping. By 1930, the first supermarket arrived on the scene in New York, offering all food options under one roof: eggs, dairy, meat, and produce.
And that was that. Suddenly, there was no need or incentive to grow your food when you could drive to the supermarket to find massive amounts of it. Convenience was the winner.
Add in the rise of GMO products and new preservation techniques, and processed foods became the norm. Much of what Americans eat today looks nothing like what previous generations considered food.
A Dangerous Disconnect
Why should we care about the absent relationship with our food? What difference does it make? Here are some dangers to consider.
Wastefulness
When we don’t need to put any effort into growing, catching, or processing our food, there is little incentive to use it wisely. Estimates indicate that 30-40% of the food in the US is thrown out. That is a staggering number! Let’s be more blunt. That’s a sickening number. It’s unconscionable.
But it’s the consequence of having no awareness of how food comes to be on our tables. When there is no connection to the blood, sweat, and tears required to create a sustainable food supply, there is no reason to guard it as the precious resource it is.
Mental and Physical Dis-Ease
An appropriate amount of hard work is excellent for the mind and body. Digging, planting, and working the soil provide excellent exercise and a mental boost. In fact, soil actually has microbes that can act as natural antidepressants. One of these amazing microbes, mycobacterium vaccae, may mimic the effects of Prozac when a gardener inhales it during their work!
Eating veggies freshly pulled from the soil may offer additional support to our guts and immune systems. After all, our ancestors certainly didn’t use a chlorinated bath to clean their produce the way commercial producers do today. When we can stay connected with the growing, harvesting, and processing of our food, our bodies and minds reap the benefits.
Pollution
The more we disconnect from our food sources, the more wasteful packaging we contribute to the landfills and ocean pollution that threaten our planet.
Grabbing lettuce from the garden doesn’t create any waste. Grabbing a clamshell-packaged head of lettuce at the grocery store leaves you with plastic that may or may not be recyclable. And that issue doesn’t take into account the problems created in the manufacturing of the packaging.
Build Your Connection
Growing and raising your own food or purchasing from a local grower keeps you physically, emotionally, and spiritually connected to the source. It offers the most sustainable way to feed our world, which is why we are so excited about our aquaculture farming plans at The Mermaid’s Garden.
When we reimagine our relationship to the Earth and the food it provides, we can disrupt the status quo and reconnect with the land. This is the vision of The Mermaid’s Garden, and we invite you to join us in making it happen.
Through donations, purchases from our shop, and connections to investors, you can help us achieve a new vision and a restorative experience for everyone who visits The Mermaid’s Garden.