Your body will know health by freshness and flavor. At least that’s been our experience. “Your produce speaks for itself.” We’ve been told.
What are its secrets to freshness and flavor?
Ecological diversity. Nature does most of the work if we allow diversity to thrive. The multiple compounds you taste as flavor take an unprogrammable balance of relationships within the soil. The healthy microorganisms thriving on healthy produce add to the diversity of your gut flora, helping you absorb even more nutrition from your food. In an organic farming system, none of the industrial shortcuts are taken to bulk up the produce chemically and sell on shelves. Instead, farmers grow vegetables to be truly and deliciously themselves, in their natural shapes and with the flavors of their ecosystems.
Justice. Don’t you think it’s like salt? Without which each bite feels alienating and soulless? Knowing that your act of eating sustains those who labor to produce our food– that nourishes the whole. The climate emergency is an issue we cannot ignore, especially with our farmers set to bear so much of the suffering. Sustaining us all through this crisis will require all of us to work collectively, raising our consciousness and compassion to include the other. Eating in a way that nourishes and strengthens our people is a small act of climate justice.
Community. It takes a village to prepare a good meal– and to serve it fresh! We need the farmers, the eaters, the drivers and folks like Sub-zero and Wolf to all share the table. When our farmers called for help, all we could do was amplify their calls. They needed rain shelters, they needed markets, they needed project partners, they needed friends! With Sub- Zero and Wolf’s support, the farmers were able to deliver through the rainy season this year and protect much of their crops. They were able to keep their organic practice, thus their health, thus their family’s health, despite the inflationary and economic crises (that has not yet abated). They were able to showcase the unique flavors of their produce through the creativity and nurture of our kitchen team (see allgudz). Lastly, they got to make friends with the people whom they nourish, or would love to nourish with their lovingly grown, fresh and flavorful food.
This is what our web of friendships make possible– the mutual support, the collective labor, the joint discovery of what is possible when a diversity of people works together. Learn more about the partnership at bit.ly/seedtoplategfc and do try a tampipi today.
