Do we need more than the year that was 2020 to convince us that perhaps things aren’t working as well as they could be?
I like to think we’ve been given a precious chance to reset, with more time with family and loved ones, and more head space to think about things.
Like FOOD -It’s an essential building block for life, it sustains us physically, and most times we eat food at least 3 times a day. It's also pretty powerful stuff: it has tremendous implications for our health, the environment and our economy.
Commoditisation of food - stripping out costs so it looks cheaper at the shelf - and focusing on short-term production on farms has knocked our relationship with food out of balance. For most of us, the food we eat is a faceless brand or an address on the back of a pack, it travels thousands of kilometres generating tonnes of carbon, and is actually doing harm to our land.
There's a better way to eat. Eating locally, directly from the farms of local producers can start regenerating our way of life. Best of all, it’s a change we can all take part in.
The little kangaroo on food packs is great to get us eating made-in-Australia, and we can do even better. For most of us there's a surprising amount of delicious food 200 kilometres from our front door. Filling our shopping baskets each week on food grown and produced by local farmers has tremendous benefits.
- Reduces household green house gas emissions by up to 85%, directly fighting climate change.
- Supports family farms that use sustainable and regenerative farming practices, nurturing our soil and allowing us to continue farming well into the future.
- Nourishes our bodies on food that tastes amazing because it was ripened on the tree, vine or bush. This also means that on a molecular level the food we’re eating has the nutrients our bodies need and can easily digest, growing healthy bodies.
- Greatly increases the variety of foods we consume. Our current global food system is largely reliant on less than 12 plant and animal species, this a fraction of the varieties we consumed not even 50 years ago. Eating a diverse range of plants and animals means we have far greater food security and better nutrition.
- Reduces food waste by up to 50% (Australia currently throws away more than $20 billion worth of food annually).
- Builds stronger communities as we start to connect with the people who grew our food, adding value to the food we’re eating and bringing families together to eat meals grown with and made with love.
“The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.”Robert Swan
As we figure out this new normal in this new decade, I hope you'll empower yourself to help make this important change a reality.
Supporting local has the power to regenerate our way of life on this continent, and it’s something we can all help bring about.
Your Food Collective is a new take on an old way of buying your food: from local farmers who care about healthy land. We deliver it with love and make it as easy as can be. It's real positive change, real nourishment, and real fresh. Learn more or even better try us out. To get started check out peak season specials or if you'd like us to pick for you, a convenient food box.
