Growing Our Food and Health
How do we advocate for our well being? It starts with what we put in our bodies, and where our food comes from. In todays economy it cost everyone more at the register. However, it impacts certain communities more. For these communities have limited resources, in so, minimal options in the food department. If we live in cities we may have the convenience of our grocery store right next door, but the cost of living is also too steep to make much of a difference on what we pay. Though the food is more fresh, healthy, and there may be many more options, food insecurity, hunger, exists in about 87 percent of American counties. Why is this happening? Why does it cost so much? Why is it so imperative to eat healthier and how do we make it better?
Being Healthy Starts With Knowledge
Being healthy isn’t easy. We have to know how to read our bodies. They have a way of telling us when something is not right. Once we can identify the signals our bodies give out, we can then learn the solutions in how to treat ourselves. It is always good to seek advice from your physician. However, it is also good to know your options.
I have lived with a health issue that many women suffer from. More than 40% of women suffer from recurring UTI’s (Urinary Tract Infections) and about 70% of women experience them. Though it is frequent, it is not diagnosable. I sought the help of professionals only to discover that they had no answers. They couldn’t help me for there is no research or studies done on this condition. They just hand out antibiotics. No one is supposed to take antibiotics so frequently because your body gets stripped of good bacteria needed to maintain a healthy Urinary Tract. It also means that your body can become immune to the drug. If this were to happen and I got another infection, I could seriously pay the consequences. I feared for my future health, for this condition can lead to kidney issues and possibly kidney failure.
I had to research and help myself. Though I trust my physicians to know how to treat disease and illness, they are human. They do not know everything, especially this particular health condition. I learned about herbal medicine, and ways that healthy foods can help keep my condition in check. I was able to be in control of my health again. I listened to what my body needed. Understanding the symptoms and the root cause meant I had the power to correct it. I felt more energized, as well as physically and mentally stronger. Before, when I just took the drugs the physicians gave me, I felt depleted. The pain continued to exist in my lower back and abdomen. I was overheated, and lethargic. I got frequent headaches and felt nauseous. I was boated and uncomfortable. With more herbal teas, fiber, vitamin c, and foods that contained beneficial microbes, I experienced a whole new body. This was my starter pack to regain my health. I know I cannot control everything and I know when I am unable to help myself. Though herbal medicine and healthy food are great at preventing certain health concerns, they are no match for the serious matters that only science has been able to remedy.
If we want to live better, we must take accountability for our own health. Talk to your physician, they can recommend a nutritionist that works with you and whatever health concerns you may have. If you’re struggling physically and mentally I guarantee that introducing a healthier diet to your routine will change the way you feel. Start by understanding your body and mind. Do your research. What foods and botanicals can assist with your health concerns? If you need clarity or focus, try Lion’s Maine and Cordyceps. If you suffer from constant constipation, try eating more chickpeas and Greek yogurt. If you have issues with your health, know that it starts with what we put in our bodies. If I can do it, I know you can too.
Healthy Food vs Community
If you are in the city, you have a better advantage at getting proper healthy food. You have so many options. Several fruits, vegetables, and proteins that are fresh, healthy, and top-notch. I come from a rural community, so when I moved to the big city, I discovered foods I never even heard of. I was blown away at how much more existed in this world.
One in eight households experience food insecurity. The lack of access to an affordable, nutritious diet. It is estimated that 44.2 million American families experience this. If you ever shop at a grocery store in a small or rural community you may be surprised to see how few options there is. Transporting goods to these communities come with limitations. Most foods do not survive the change in altitude, temperature, and the time it takes to deliver. Most fresh foods do not have a long shelf life. So when you see the smaller community grocery stores you will more likely find bruised, wilted, or sad looking “fresh” options. Rural areas experience deeper struggles with hunger compared to those in metro areas.
Rural communities make up 63 percent of all counties in the United States. Though these communities play a imparitive role in our country’s food production they suffer with the highest rates of overall food insecurity. It is a sad fact to know, and there is no easy way to making it better. If you have beautiful, healthy looking fruits, vegetables, and meat products, consider yourself lucky. If you have fruits called rambutans, or satsumas, consider yourself food privileged.
Cities are in fact more heathy, and less likely to have diseases or illnesses like the smaller, rural communities do. With the increase of prices and the decrease in food production it is only getting worse. These communities will suffer more in the time to come, but it wont just be them. It will be everyone.
Future Impacts
Though poverty and inequalities have improved since the 1950’s, we must take into account the more recent times. With our ever growing population, supply and demand are only to increase. Prices have risen not just because of the pandemic. Agriculture has not decreased just because of the cost it now takes to produce our food, but because of climate change. Prices go up when supply and demand cannot be met. Prices increase even more when we lose the ability to produce food. We are a population that is three times larger than we were in the 1950’s. We continue to grow. Food continues to grow less.
With climate change we have seen our water sources diminish. Rainforests are lost, aquifers are dried up, lakes and rivers are gone. It is estimated that by 2025, two-thirds of our world’s population could face water shortages. That is only a moment away, but it has already begun. Our ecosystems and our communities are in danger more than we know.
Agriculture consumes more water than our world can replenish it. It is the second largest contributor to gas emissions. Agriculture pollutes our soil with chemicals and cultivation, in so pollutes our water. If we do not have good soil, we do not have healthy crops. If we pollute our water and crops, we pollute our population. If we pollute our world, we have no population, no environment, no future.
We may not see what our world will become, but our future generations will. Leading up to the impact of our world climate crisis, you will have desperation from all living things trying to survive. Will it be the end? I do not know. I can see the outcome as horrid or as something entirely new in a very good way. If our climate does not get better, what happens to living things when they become desperate for survival? Famine, disease, and death will be the guarantee we will face. We will be forced to act on instinct when the need to survive is all we have left. I do not want to frighten people. However, when you learn the facts, our future never seemed more terrifying.
Truth is, our world will survive with or without us. The earth knows how to regenerate itself. If we do not change our ways we will pay the consequences. If we take action now, learn better ways to grow our food, conserve our water, limit our carbon footprint, and regenerate our land we may have a chance.
Being Better Starts With How We Grow
Having a chance to be better, isn’t that what we all want? I do not have all the answers to how to save the world. I do not even have the answers in how to save myself sometimes. I just know that when I try to be better, I feel better, I live better, and I experience life in a better way. I only have the ability to change my life and how it will be in the future. I cannot change people, or make your decisions for you. It is up to you to educate yourself, maintain your own health, and be as sustainable as you possibly can. I can only tell you the ways in which have worked for me and why they are important to me.
Take accountability for yourselves. I know life doesn’t allot us much time or energy to take care of our health let alone grow our own food. It starts with educating ourselves. I know if you live in a city you cannot exactly grow a garden. At least in the traditional sense. However, there are ways. If you live in a small or rural community and cannot obtain healthier food, there are ways. If you cannot grow food with the traditional agricultural practices, there are ways. If you grow anything, you are growing a better way of living. Just to grow something helps your mental health. To grow something that is nutritious, helps your overall well being.
Being healthy is imperative to our future. Our world’s future. Growing almost anything is beneficial to our environment, if done in a sustainable way. I know many people will not like to hear this, but we need to make choices to do better. Our overconsumption, our demand for meat and dairy must be limited. It is the largest contributor to methane gas emissions. I am not saying to remove it completely, but cut back. When I heard this I was put off, but honestly, because of the increase of price I found myself cutting back anyway. I adapted a more vegetable and fruit diet. It wasn’t as difficult as I had originally thought. On the upside, I found more energy, more youth, and more benefits from my adapted diet.
If we were to cut back on meat and dairy to try more healthy produce, we not only emit less greenhouse gases, but we build more life sources with growing a garden. With this choice we allow balance and diversity. When we grow food using sustainable practices, our health, environment, and the future needs of all living things will be met. When we do this, we can live healthier lives.
The Growing Practices We Need To Know
Aeroponics, hydroponics, aquaponics and permaculture are some of the methods that will pave the way to our future. Aeroponics, hydroponics is a soil-less, water conserving system that people can utilize in their homes. It doesn’t need the constant supervision and care that many people assume come with this type of gardening. It works on an automated timer and pump system, circulating its water. We have to make sure that we add nutrients to the water, and refill it, but it is pretty self-sustaining. You could grow this near your window in your apartment or on your terrace if you do not have a yard. You can grow this anywhere with limited or abundant space. If you have no access to direct sunlight, get a grow light. This will allow us to grow some of our food and be more sustainable ourselves.
Aquaponics is a similar method, but it incorporates another food source or life form to the mix. It uses fish to bring nutrients to the water. Fish waste is very beneficial to plants. In return the plants provide for the fish. You can do this several ways, some are more sustainable than others but require a little more space. If you allow this method to work in tandem they will provide for each other. If you separate them like some aquaponic gardeners do, your fish will lack the shelter, food and environment the plants can provide. We must keep in mind that to be sustainable everything must work together in a cycle. You will need to replenish the water source and feed the fish, so this option may require more attention than hydroponics. If you are in limited space it can still work, you just may need to buy pet fish that are small and do not grow big. Most aquaponic gardeners use this method to harvest fish and plants for their needs. It is a cycle of life.
For those who have more space but lack the fertile soil and environment for growing, I suggest trying permaculture. Permaculture is a manufactured garden that is designed to work with biodiverse lifeforms. We create an ecosystem with this method. It allows us to build nutrients and regenerate our soil, retain our water, and grow healthier, stronger food for all living organisms. By adding plant and animal life to the land you allow it to work together, but you have to know the limitations, and the strengths. Animals are always great at helping fertilize the land, but it can be harmful to most crops to use manure straight away on your garden. By creating a composting system from our plant and animal waste we allow beneficial microbes to grow. You also feed the worms and it is their castings that have so much nutrients. This will be what regenerates the soil. You will never have to till your garden. Adding plants, like beans help to put nitrogen into our soil. That is usually lost with cultivation. Adding a mixture of plants that work together can also deter pests and bring forth good insects. Chickens are often put into these types of gardens to eat pests and weeds, but they actually eat everything. Runner ducks however, they seem more controlled in what they eat. This method can be designed to function sustainably with less interference from us.
It is how this world was supposed to work. We are simply caretakers of this world. Now that it is in need of our help we all must step up. It will affect everyone and everything negatively if we do nothing. It is time to regenerate our land. By farming with biodiversity, and sustainable practices we will maintain a future for all. It is a bonus to gain health in the process, both physically and mentally. You will be surprised at the immense impact you have not only on yourself but on everything you do. Put care back into the things you do in life and you will find a better one.
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