Today is Food Day: a nationwide celebration and a movement for healthy, affordable, and sustainable food. All over the country, people are gathering to eat, discuss, and celebrate good food. They are recognizing our country’s food accomplishments, and putting energy into the improvements that need to be made so that more Americans have access to real, healthy, affordable food.
Since I spend a lot of time on this blog revealing less-than-ideal information about our food system (not to scare you, but to equip you with tools so you can make informed decisions about what you buy and eat), I wanted to focus today’s post on the good things happening in the food world. Because there are many. A few highlights:
- The organic food market is growing 6 times faster than conventional food.
- Farm-to-school programs can be found in more than 12,000 schools nationwide.
- The number of small farms increased by 76,000 between 2002 and 2007 (Source: USDA Census of Agriculture).
- People like you and me are paying more attention to where our food comes from, and are thus supporting more small, local farms.
- Entrepreneurs are rapidly starting businesses that produce and deliver local food within their communities.
- Proposition 37 – to label GMOs – is on the ballot in California for this November’s election – a sign that food is gaining political attention.
- Promote safer, healthier diets
- Support sustainable and organic farms
- Reduce hunger
- Reform factory farms to protect the environment
- Support fair working conditions for food and farm workers
There are events happening everywhere today and in the coming weeks and months. You can get involved in a wide variety of ways, including simply preparing and enjoying real food at home with your family today.
Happy Food Day!
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