When it comes to raw food, think about this: Raw food helps recreate you to your original form. Our ancestors ate raw foods. They didn't have fryers or other of the cooking devices that literally mutate our food. They had sticks, fire, and they had meat from the animals they hunted. They also had gardens in which they grew their food from the land. This raw food made up a majority of their diets because it was more readily available than the food that they hunted for.
Combating World Hunger
Just imagine if everyone in the world had at least one garden. One average size garden of around ½ to 1 acre that containing peppers, lettuce, cucumbers, beans, strawberries, and other raw fruits and vegetables. This alone can feed a family of four to six people for an entire year. If you add a couple of fruit trees to this equation then the possibilities are literally endless.
This makes us wonder why we are still struggling with world hunger. If everyone ate raw foods, perhaps no one would starve. The truth, however, is that there are villages in some areas undergoing drought and the soil will not sustain a garden or fruit trees. However, other individuals that do ot live in these regions can plant gardens that are large enough to sustain their family and those who are starving around the world. There is enough land owned by people all over the world that would allow them to do this. Put it all together and the world would not know hunger.
One farmer that farms 20 acres of land can provide raw foods to an entire village. The period of time they can provide the food would depend on how many residents are in the village, but it is very possible to provide this for weeks or months at a time. Those 20 acres could feed 80 to 120 people for at least a season. That is a lot of food for a lot of people!
In the war against world hunger, there are some programs that accept donations from farmers who have excess crops. It is amazing how many farmers do not harvest all of their crops before they start to die off. If they did, they could donate the extra food. Sometimes they simply do not make it to those crops on time, but the point is that those excess foods do exist and with enough help farmers could offer those foods to organizations that take them to the poor and to other countries in which starvation is prevalent.
Visiting the Farmer's Market
You can visit your farmer's market in two ways. You can visit it as a seller and you can visit it as a buyer. If you are a farmer or interested in farming, you can benefit your community immensely by offering your crops at the farmer's market for a good price. This allows other individuals consume the raw foods that you have grown and benefit from their health benefits. You’re technically contributing to the overall good health of those in your community and you’re feeding them for less money than what they would be paying if they went to the supermarket.
If you’re a shopper looking for fresh vegetables at the local farmer's market, then you are also benefiting your community and your health. In addition to this you are doing the environment a great service by reducing the amount of fuel you use by going to the supermarket if the farmer's market is closer to you. Also, a supermarket must have the produce shipped in from other locations. If less people are buying their raw foods from supermarkets, then less fuel is consumed by shipping them there.
So if at all possible, plant your own garden and set up a booth at your farmer's market. Donate food whenever you can and live off of your land. You will be improving your health and you will be contributing to the health of others and the environment. Look into organizations that will take your excess food and give it to the needy. That way, you’re being proactive in the struggle against world hunger. It is true that you alone will not be able to feed the masses, but what you can do is make a small difference. Just remember that making a difference in one person's life makes a world of difference.
By TTS Cofounder Botanical Chef Omid Jaffari
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