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In
the course of creating Broken Limbs, filmmakers
Guy Evans and Jamie Howell discovered their
own purchasing and eating habits were transformed.
It is important to note, though, that shopping
habits formed over a lifetime are not changed
overnight, but one small purchase, one meal
at a time.
Think of it as a treasure hunt. Read labels,
ask questions. Then consider these questions:
- Was
it hard to find local or regional products? Did
you have to go out of your way?
- Did
you buy anything you wouldn't have otherwise?
- How
did the cost compare to what you might ordinarily
have purchased? How did the quality compare?
- Did
you make any discoveries about your own habits,
good or bad?
Extend
your range: A
natural extension of this exercise is to seek
out foods that offer
you a higher level of information about how they
were produced.
Organic
Apples? Free range chicken? Grass-fed beef?
These are all examples of foods labeled with
communication in mind. It doesn't matter what
you believe in or approve of, only that you
momentarily raise your conscious awareness
of where the food you buy is coming from and
how it is grown.
Vote
with your wallet: In the movie Deborah
Kane of the Food Alliance pointed out that
a produce manager will make changes in a produce
department when about 10 people ask, "Because
they figure if 10 people go to the trouble
to ask, 100 others are thinking the same thing."
In
addition to actually asking, if you would like
to see more local, regional or sustainably
produced foods on the shelf, one of the best
ways to send that message is through the buying
decisions you make every day. Make no mistake,
America's businesses are paying attention to
those votes.
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