Eating is the most intimate interaction we carry on with our Mother Earth. As we eat, we actually ingest part of our environment. It sustains us. It gives us life. It becomes part of us. It is most definitely high on my list of the great pleasures in life as well. I pay attention to food and lately it's been hard to miss the serious discussion revolving the current jump in food prices occurring world wide.

Serious criticism of our industrial farming methods arose in the sixties and found an eloquent and penetrating voice in Wendell Berry; author of "The Unsettling of America" first published in 1977. Many writings followed. In 2002, a scathing indictment of the system was published in the form of a collection of essays edited by Andrew Kimbrell entitled "The Fatal Harvest - The Tragedy of Industrialized Agriculture." Here is an excerpt from the prologue:

I recommend this book but I must warn you that it is likely to depress you for the industrialized system is so entrenched and powerful that it is difficult to envision a way as to how things might be able to change.

Earlier this month, I received a newsletter from my "Just a Girl in short shorts talking about whatever" subscription containing a YouTube video; "Meet Your Meat." This is the contemporary manifestation of the argument against Industrialized Agriculture. I recommend this to only those that maintain a constitution similar to that of a Marine sergeant. It vividly depicts the horribly inhumane treatment the animals in our food chain are subjected to. In the engineering economics of large scale industrialized agriculture, the wellbeing of the animals is not a consideration. The system is ruthlessly focused on engineering large quantities of cheap food. Unfortunately we are discovering that the highly processed food this system churns out has many negative qualities, not the least of which is that it's proving to be unhealthful. Its production processes generate an enormous amount of pollution, the cost of which is not reflected in the price of the cheap food, while consuming huge quantities of natural resources, water, and energy that once were plentiful and cheap but now are much more scarce and expensive with a continued cost rise in the future expected as inevitable.

A bright spot on the horizon has been the huge success of farmer's markets throughout the country. Providing direct customer access for the small local food producer, it is a marvel of efficiency. Low transportation costs, freshness of product, opportunity for socializing, and greater return for the farmer all contribute to a new vision of how food production might be improved. Following this thread, Green Broad Ripple (GBR) has organized on a new initiative. On Friday, May 30, 2008, on a half lot on 61st Street between Guilford and Winthrop, the first Green Broad Ripple Urban Garden was established. The lot has been owned and gardened for years by Candace Glass so profuse vegetables and flowers growing on this lot will not present anything new. What is new is that Candace has joined Morgan Johnson in co-chairing a GBR Urban Garden Committee. The intent will be to build connections between local gardeners and Broad Ripple restaurants so that more and more of the produce used in Broad Ripple is grown in Broad Ripple. Friday saw employees of Johnny Crockett Tree Service organically preparing the site for planting and Saturday saw Candace and Morgan and committee volunteers, Neal Bennett and Patty Cortellini devoting much of the day to a first planting. Candace and Morgan make a great team. Candace is a natural earth mother. She loves digging in the dirt and has completed master gardener courses. Morgan loves gardening and brings a disciplined organizational disposition with a keen eye for detail to the effort.

Will this change the world? Perhaps not - yet it may change Broad Ripple. Besides being a great deal of hard work there were many pleasant moments during the day. There was camaraderie and fellowship, discussion of all sorts, attention from curious passers-by some of which engaged in conversation in a neighborly way and Candace even provided lunch. It is my belief that this positive energy; this giving and love of the doing in collaboration with others is a growing powerful force that holds the promise of transformation. If you would like to know more, please contact me at the email address below.