Food Sovereignty

Regardless of what's happening in the World as a whole, we must first focus on our own country and our own province . By stringent selection of the absolute best techniques that work and have been working for centuries, perhaps not here or not in the westernised part at all, but in a smaller country, and even in an indigenous tribe that has been thriving and flourishing sustainably since the most ancient of times but was largely overlooked by the multi-national food producers, who's main goal is a monetary gain and thus, to them, those green practices are of little interest .

Keeping our Future in mind via achieving these highly organic and truly sustainable standards of food production and distribution internally, we will be able to serve as an ideal example to others and be the change we want to see in this world . 

In the current world of environmental justice, the road to agricultural self-sufficiency should be trekked now and with a great stride .

Food is first and foremost a source of nutrition and only secondarily an item of trade and  control . Food security is just a surfacing part of a complete solution, for the corrupt misinterpretation of it by the leaders in food production monopoly is easily derived . The biggest reason behind this is seeking an instant gratification and trying to fix a superficially imposed problem without thinking of tomorrow and instead of going to the root to find an answer .

Genuine farmers make up only 1.5% of the population, yet produce about 48% of all foods consumed in BC ! Even while accomplishing such an immense task, they are very often seen in food banks, with little to none net profit left for living and pouring back into the business . 

We must do our best to help promote our local markets, farmer's favourable organic techniques and permaculture practices as much as possible, in order to maximize their profits, so that the majority of it could be used for improving the equipment, spending time on advanced research, upgrades, and expansion of farmlands . Farmlands create a variety of wildlife habitats, support and maintain bio-diversity, which is of most importance to everyone . Local food production reduces our environmental costs and impact, including costs not measured in money .

The most basic and essential Human Rights are Food and Shelter . If we are to survive and live well in this century, flooding the market and environment with poorly produced foods containing synthetic and harmful ingredients by low-end manufacturers, just for their caloric value, quantity and distant expiry dates is not an option to be embraced . After all, most, if not all of it will be ending up in the landfills or poisoning us, livestock, soil, and oceans . That's why Food Sovereignty goes far above and beyond the common food security principles .

It is through enough sleep, organic raw vegan diet, yoga, moderate exercise and stimulation that we can elevate our sense of wellbeing, and reach clarity of mind, spirit and the body . Free will is only truly free, when one is awake and aware . 

By putting those who actually produce, distribute and consume food in the heart of the equation, food systems and policies (rather than the demands of markets and corporations), we will be able to produce healthy food through ecologically sound and sustainable procedures . Continuous access to healthy and nutritious food largely depends on its demand, and every single person contributing to turning the dreams into reality .

Our primary goal is to ascend our civilization to new levels through proper and useful education, by taking baby-step in the right direction, at a steady pace . Everyone should possess the basic fundamental knowledge of green and sustainable Home-Garden cultivation, and what better time to begin learning about it than while we are young and in school ? 

Practice will always play a very integral role here by greatly supplementing the theory, as well as leaving a long-lasting imprint in the mind .

Real change stems from every single individual on a neighbourhood scale . Just as a mountain spring makes its journey from a high peak and into the ocean, it all begins with natural permaculture by ceasing use of pesticides, insecticides, and plating native and exotic flowers all around . Naturally resistant species can be chosen through selective breeding, and found in the wild, where they have adapted to their environment, developed resistance, and grow strong and healthy . 

This will in-turn help to stabilize our quickly diminishing bee colonies, which are responsible for at least 1/3 of our entire food supply .

Next step is the public designation of large lands to organic produce community gardens in rural areas, and readily available resources and information to everyone for building and maintaining their own high-tech Aquaponics Greenhouses . It may include a composter, and combine a renewable power and ingenious design of a mini hydro-arrogation system with a series of electronic controls and natural lightning, with the ultimate possibility of being fully automated and self-sufficient . 

Geodesic Dome(icosahedron tessellation) and its dual polyhedron(Hex-Pent beehive) are the strongest structures known to man that utilize internal space to the maximum . By imitating geometry found in nature, they can withstand the most challenging weather and temperature fluctuations . A dome does an amazing job at capturing and dispersing sunlight in a way that benefits the plants . With a geodesic dome aquaponics greenhouse one may enjoy a tropical paradise all year around, right in the comfort of a backyard .

Let us zoom back to take a look at the big picture ...

With the ever-increasing world population, we are faced with many sobering choices . The uncontrolled intrusion of multi-national food producers into pristine ecology of smaller and developing countries has resulted in an especially severe hard hit on the already drained water tables. Water tables are part of the ecosystem and need to be given time to be replenished gradually . Subsidies do not provide a good justification for continuing to distort agricultural markets . Currently, developing nations are usually always better off continuing to farm at the subsistence level because the offered options of food mass-production are not yet optimized with long-term environmental impact in mind .

Even after putting pathogenic and ethical issues aside, cattle and poultry, being higher on the food-chain than the plants, is becoming unrealistic to sustain . More than 70% of all the world's grain is going to feed the livestock, who also use more water than the crop itself .With the livestock's energy input to energy output ratio soaring as high as 54:1, producing animal-based foods is becoming simply inefficient . And to top it all off, cattle produces more greenhouse gases than all the cars combined .

In this case the remedy is as simple as it is clear, - to become and stay Raw Vegan for the greater good and benefit of our whole civilization and our future . Contrary to popular misbelief, self-preparation of raw-vegan dishes requires much less time than westernised diet and results in a considerably lesser amount of gold coins spent . Besides, for those very special occasions, meat protein can be biologically synthesized in a lab to mirror it's inferior alternative for a far cleaner and superior nutrient profile .

Wheat, - the always touted staple in our diet has turned out to be one of our most dangerous adversaries . Currently, “wheat stem rust” epidemic is spreading across the world, with a potential to destroy most of the world’s main wheat crops . It can be easily viewed as a sign to us from the Universe to use genetic diversity of the crop's wild relatives, and to greatly favour poly-culture over mono-culture . By selectively breeding wheat for centuries, we have managed to drastically increase its protein content, and with that, - Wheat Germ Agglutinin (WGA) and phytic acid . WGA is most often compared to a virus, for exhibiting many of its properties and deadly tactics . It is actually a toxin designed by Nature itself to protect wheat from predators, including insects and ourselves on the list . WGA is now thought to be the reason for our body having an auto-immune response that is simultaneously cross-linked to gluten . This sheds a new light on Gluten, except for one thing, - it is high in phytic acid. By chelating ions and thereby reducing bio-availability, phytic acid prevents absorption of many essential minerals such as calcium, often leading to weak tooth enamel, bones, and electrolyte imbalance . But phytic acid can be easily broken down by phytase (enzyme found in rye and buckwheat flour) in an acidic environment within an optimal pH range of 3-5 and temperature of 30C, given at least 3-12 hours time . The best way to get the most out of food is to enhance its nutrient profile, - soaking, sprouting and slight fermentation accomplishes just that and more .

Now let’s relax, take a deep breath, and enjoy the answers to our impeding questions ...

The Golden Key solution on a large scale to most of these dilemmas can be found in the Permaculture of Food Forests !

Permaculture is Full Force . It is an ecological theory of everything . 

Permaculture is not about detaching yourself from the world - it is about advancing the current state of the world .  It is a growing and influential movement that runs deep beneath sustainable farming and urban food gardening . Everything is interconnected .

One may find permaculturists setting up worm-trays and bee-boxes, aquaponics ponds, composters and rain barrels, solar panels and earth houses . It is this conscious design, this mindful assembly of elements, that defines the permaculture's approach, based on the careful observation of nature and its patterns . The aim of Food Forests is a creation of systems which are productive and abundant, yet require very little maintenance .

Nature creates all Forests multi-layered, through series of "waves" of plants with different heights and lifespans . Each plant therein can be viewed as a vital step in the forest's eco-cycle, with every step prior supporting a higher one with nitrogen and other nutrients, ultimately leading to final overstory or canopy, - the productive trees, which compose the very top .

As we transition into near future of forecasted resource scarcity, more localized economies, where the power to alter landscapes granted to us by fossil-fuels is beginning to wane, - we are forced to find ways to produce food using techniques that naturally build, enrich and protect soils, lock up carbon, and increase our Bio-Diversity . In this century, permaculture won’t be a lifestyle choice, but a necessity .

Creation of self-perpetuating Food Forests inspires the lucid ones among us to hope and believe in an abundant future - a future where our survival is not dependant on undermining and depletion of natural resources, but sustainable integration of them in the Circle of Life as a positive element within the Biosphere .

( in collaboration with the Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA), for more info, to learn about and help establish local educational permaculture circles, classes and workshops, which would lead to the potential of appointing our own delegates, in order to represent our concepts in other regions, including overseas, as well as to provide assistance with projects in progress, - please send an e-Mail to Herbal.Lore@gmail.com )

+ Thank you for your full-on support !