Sunday Paper 10/23 -- Food Day!

Move over Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Valentines Day for my new favorite holiday: National Food Day. Okay, maybe second favorite, the December holiday season just can't be topped. From this year on, October 24th is officially National Food Day; a day that celebrates affordable, sustainable, healthy foods.

Technology is a wonderful thing. There's no way I'd be able to function without my laptop. Walking to class without my iPod? My whole day would be thrown off. As much as I love and am attached to my gadgets, I'm not a big supporter of technology getting into my food. Let me preface with I am not saying that all food technology is bad. Not at all. Over the past 100 years we have found ways to use technology to make our foods safer, improve shelf-life, and feed hundreds of thousands more than we would have without technology. However, all these great advancements are ones that simply improved or made available whole, nutritious foods. The technologies that I'm not a fan of are what I like to call "creators of food-like products."

Processed foods are not food in my opinion, they are food-like or food-containing. Look at the ingredient list. Anything with words you wouldn't be able to draw without needing an organic chemistry background fall into this category. Not only are these foods harmful to our health, they are also harmful to the environment and to workers.

At it's core, Food Day is about fighting for our health. Making changes in your diet and shopping practices are not enough. For long term results, we need to make changes at the national level. Policies that protect workers, the environment, food safety, and food security are essential in order to claim back our health and give future generations a country that will support their well-being. On the Food Day website, you have the opportunity to ask your members of Congress to support the Eat Real agenda. Click here to read the message and what the Eat Real agenda is all about. In a nut-shell, the Eat Real agenda asks the government to reform factories that harm the environment, support fair working conditions for food and farm workers, promote a healthier diet by having the government buy more fruits and vegetables and make buying produce easier for people on food stamps, and make fresh, healthy foods more widely available, particularly in rural and impoverished urban areas.

Food affects everyone. Along with art and music, its one of the few common denominators we all share. Grab a friend, family member, co-worker, classmate, teacher, neighbor, basically anyone who eats food and go find Food Day events in your area. To find events click HERE. The better educated we are about our food system, the better we'll be able to change it and improve upon it.

One more quick thing then I promise I'll let you explore the Food Day website yourself. There is a free cookbook you can download from the webstie. FREE. It features healthy recipes using sustainable ingredients that are designed by well-known chefs: Jamie Oliver, Mario Batali, Emeril, and so many more! DOWNLOAD THIS NOW!

Happy (almost) Food Day!!

--Kelli