Solutions to Food Insecurity

Introduction

The Problem: Profits Over Produce

Food insecurity is not just about the fear of not having enough food, or the process of growing food degrading environmental health, but also about the reality that the food grown is sub-par. The majority of American farming is mono-crops, with some duo-crops, with “30% of the land in the U.S. is used for planting corn” (Food, Inc.). Food grown in the process of mono-culture is generally low in nutrition, and largely used for creating processed foods or feed for animals destined for the slaughter house. Every aspect of American food culture has been set up for the profits of corporations, and not the nutritional health of citizens. Take these facts into account:

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Bottom line, the American agricultural industry is in cahoots with the pharmaceutical and chemical industry to make as much money as possible from poisoning the American public. With the health care industry making money off of sick people, and not keeping people well, the entire system is skewed towards the profits. The revolving doors of politicians, business leaders, and regulatory agents are now totally transparent to its corrupt roots. Looking at any one of the contexts of the facts listed above will reveal a shockingly corrupt and cruel chain of choices with the greed for profit at its core. The regulatory bodies no longer regulate, but serve the interests of those they should be guarding the public from. The government no longer represents the people’s interests and safety, but their corporate overlords. At the bottom, front, and heart of it all are the corporations who seek to make money in any way possible. 

However, there is a way through this net of killing corruption, and Russia is leading the way in the movement towards abundance, health, and sustainability. In diametrically opposed fashion, the Russian government has passed legislation empowering their citizens to greater health and liberty. Imagine, living in a country where having the freedom to cultivate your own land, tax-free and without government interference, is not only common but also encouraged for the purpose of promoting individual sovereignty and strong, healthy communities. Now imagine that in this same country, nearly all of your neighbors also cultivate their own land as part of a vast network of decentralized, self-sustaining, independent ‘eco-villages’ that produce more than enough food to feed the entire country. (Benson)

Small Plot Garden Act

In 2003, Russian President Vladmir Putin signed the Private Garden Plot Act into law, which empowers every Russian citizen to claim a free plot of land ranging in size from 2.2 acres to 6.8 acres. This land is tax free in perpetuity, “Each plot can be used for growing food, or for simply vacationing or relaxing, and the government has agreed not to tax this land. And the result of this effort has been phenomenal” (Benson). The result of this innovative an simple approach to nutrition is that the organic process of small gardens (as opposed to the toxic immensity of mono-culture) produces high quality produce rich in nutrition. Most of the families grow much more than they need, for the yields of this process are astounding, and sell their excess to local cities which receive consistent influx of the best food in the world. In 1999, it was estimated that 35 million small family plots throughout Russia, operated by 105 million people, or 71 percent of the Russian population, were producing about 50 percent of the nation's milk supply, 60 percent of its meat supply, 87 percent of its berry and fruit supply, 77 percent of its vegetable supply, and an astounding 92 percent of its potato supply. (Benson)

This process has expanded since passing the law, and has already begun to improve the ecological health of Russia. No longer using as many pesticides the rivers and air have become cleaner, and the quality of life has improved for all. This movement was already a part of the national character of Russia for a long time, but was reinvigorated by the revolutionary works of writer Vladmir Megre, who wrote “The Ringing Cedars of Russia” series which details the life of his wife, Anastasia. A powerful Russian mystic living in the Siberian Taiga, Anastasia promotes a reconnection with nature through gardening which closes cycles of nutrition and evolution in many beneficial ways. She affirms, every seed you plant contains within itself an enormous amount of information about the Universe. Nothing made by human hands can compare with this information either in size or accuracy. Through the help of these the seed knows the exact time, down to the millisecond, when it is to come alive, grow — what juices it is to take from the Earth. (Ringing Cedars)

With this in mind, the realities of the damage which is done to genetically modified seeds on a cellular level, on a spiritual level begin to come into greater focus. Nutrition is about more than eating, but about supporting a living relationship with the earth. Anastasia encourages, “These fruits are designed to sustain Man’s life. More powerfully and effectively than any manufactured drugs of the present or future, these fruits are capable of counteracting and withstanding any disease of the human body” (Ringing Cedars). The foods that are grown GMO and through pesticides are not only tasteless, non-nutritious, but toxic to the degree they support the context for terrible diseases. These diseases are profited upon egregiously as, “Today one person out of three gets cancer in the course of their life…The NCI states that the medical costs of cancer care are $125 billion, with a projected 39 percent increase to $173 billion by 2020” (Thomas). Whether or not the profiteers who manipulate law in the United States want to see the big picture, the health of a nation is not made up of the robustness of their weapons caches, but by the strength of their people.

World Leaders

If current trends continue Russia will become the strongest nation in the world, with the most abundantly flourishing people, environment, and economy. From this foundation of sustainable strength whatever the Russian people choose to do will be successful. For proper nutrition is key for the health of mind and body which enables sanity and prosperity. The corrupt profiteering which the American people are subject to is weakening the very foundation of culture. The evidence of this misuse can be seen in levels of productivity, levels of mental illness, violence, and decreasing quality of life across all measurements. 

Americans may have difficulty believing that Russia is doing it better than them, conditioned as they are to believe The United States is the most perfect nation on the planet. However, the psychological weight this delusion requires may be growing too heavy for overburdened citizens who are starving for authentic values. Russia has only a 110 day growing cycle, being so far north, and with sustainable practices they are able to grow more than enough food. America has the potential to grow much more than Russia, but with current practices one in four American consistently go hungry. This is unnecessary, and Anastasia offers simple guidance on how to seize the opportunities for abundance all around, I am telling you how to provide it with the opportunity to act beneficially on your behalf. If you make the connections with the plants in your garden-plot, they will take care of you and cure you. They will make the right diagnoses all by themselves and prepare the most effective medicine designed for you. (Ringing Cedars)

Learning from the terrifying example of the United States many nations around the world have banned GMOs, fracking, and many practices which directly undermine national health through poisoning its people and environment. As a result, “Organics is the fastest growing food segment, increasing 20% annually” (Food, Inc.). It is up to consumers to see through the lies which disempower them, and choose creative self-empowered ways of providing for themselves. No longer can Americans afford to rely on corporations and governments who profit directly from their loss. 

The more people who participate in this movement towards local and sustainable, the more mega-corporations will become disempowered until the tide turns and they are forced to start giving people what they want and need if they will stay in business. This process is more essential than ever with the very real threats of climate change, resource scarcity, and the changing global economies which are moving into greater automation and less jobs (Sharashkin). Those nations which invest in sustainable gardening, energy, and infrastructure will emerge as the new global leaders after the rug of the 21st century shakes out. Business as usual is simply no longer a viable model. 

Conclusion

Without health not much else has meaning, and authentic values are beginning to have a resurgence due to the extreme privation of disempowerment which so many people have bought into for too long. Growing food sustainably, undercutting toxic profiteering, is a global movement to support community health on which the strength of a nation may be measured.

Endnotes

1: WashingtonsBlog

2: WashingtonsBlog

3: Food, Inc.

4: WashingtonsBlog

5: EcoWatch

6: Food, Inc.

Works Cited

Benson, Jonathan. “Russia's small-scale organic agriculture model may hold the key to feeding the world.” Natural News, 29 Sep. 2012. Retrieved from: http://www.naturalnews.com/037366_Russia_home_gardens_food_production.html

Food, Inc. “Facts from Food, Inc.” n.d. Retrieved from: http://instruction2.mtsac.edu/mcooper/Biology%206/Exam%203/Facts_from_Food__Inc.pdf

EcoWatch. “USDA on board with shipping U.S. chickens to China for processing, then re-entry to States for human consumption.” The Idealist Revolution, 6 Mar. 2015. Retrieved from: http://www.idealistrevolution.org/usda-on-board-with-shipping-u-s-chickens-to-china-for-processing-then-re-entry-to-states-for-human-consumption/

Ringing Cedars. “The Ringing Cedars Series.” RingingCedars.com, n.d. Retrieved from: http://www.ringingcedars.com/seed_planting/

Sharashkin, Leonid. “Russian Dacha Gardening- Homescale Agriculture Feeding Everyone.” Underwood Gardens, n.d. Retrieved from: http://www.underwoodgardens.com/russian-dacha-gardening-homescale-agriculture-feeding-everyone/

Thomsa, John P. “The Cancer Industry is Too Prosperous to Allow a Cure.” Health Impact News, 10 June 2016. Retrieved from: http://healthimpactnews.com/2014/the-cancer-industry-is-too-prosperous-to-allow-a-cure/

WashingtonsBlog. “Genetic Engineering Actually INCREASES Pesticide Use, DECREASES Crop Yield, And May Be Dangerous to Your Health.” WashingtonsBlog.com, 27 Jan. 2014. Retrieved from: http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2014/01/genetically-engineered-crops-responsible-increase-383-million-pounds-herbicide-use-u-s-first-13-years-commercial-use.html