Growing Our Own Food

Hillsdale, New York — the village where I spent a lot of time as a child (and as an adult)

I have always been drawn to the soil, to the earth, to the amazing performance that nature bestows upon us when what we put into the earth comes back to us tenfold. Just think of putting a tiny seed into the soil and up comes a carrot, a cucumber and so many of nature’s answers to health. As Hippocrates said thousands of years ago, “Let Food Be Thy Medicine and Medicine Be Thy Food.” So, fast forward to present day living.. what happened? Why has “real” food been taken over by “fake” food? Why have we allowed the big food companies to control what we eat? I say, “Let’s Take Back Our Health!”

I may be a small fish in a big pond with these questions, but it’s grassroots movements that have brought about changes in our world. We must never underestimate the power of individuals to make drastic changes. I have become much more vocal these days about my beliefs that I realize go way back to when I was a child. Growing up on a farm several months each year provided me with the knowledge of how Mother Earth gives us everything we need to be healthy and to thrive. Unfortunately, Big Ag and Big Pharm have SO much money (and therefore power) to unfortunately sway people to thinking they are out for our own good — as if we, as humans, do not know what’s good for us. I will not give over my power to anyone! I have an intuitive sense as to what my body needs and how I go about getting it.

While the trend seems to be going in the direction of genetically modified foods, I have decided to grow my own food — or at least some of it. The rest I will get from a very small local farmer who grows some amazing organic foods and some from an organic farmer in upstate New York. My son-in-law, Alex, helped me set up an above-ground garden bed last year and I cannot wait to get my hands dirty!! I’m starting my education now regarding how to compost, what to plant and when, and gathering as much information as I can to create an amazing organic garden for my grandchildren to experience — something I grew up with! I think that’s one of my roles as a grandma — to pass down those things that are important to me and those things I feel inspired to impart onto them…. besides lots of LOVE!

I feel there’s no better time than right now to begin to awaken to what’s happening to our food, to our water, to our air, to our soil and to our health. Rather than feel like it’s overwhelming and that you can’t make a difference, let’s challenge that belief and know that we can make a difference — and a big one at that! We just need to realize that everything we do and every decision we make affects everything and everyone else. Every little step we take to get back the health of our planet is a step toward being a conscious human.

How much are you willing to change?

-C