Local food first

Pam and i have been reading Bill McKibben's Deep Economy – which i highly recommend for those who are looking forward to life ‘after growth’. That's the title of his first chapter; the second is about the local food movement, which is well under way all over the world. And none too soon either, since the global food system is especially vulnerable in its heavy reliance on oil and ground water – both of which are drying up – and on ecologically unsustainable practices. (It's a major contributor to climate change, too.) The system is also artificially propped up by subsidies to the corporations who profit from their near-monopoly control of both ‘inputs’ and marketing. Besides, industrial food was never very good (though cheap and plentiful), and the move toward local food is one of the most visible signs of the Manitoulin Uprising. The Farmer's Markets have been growing for several years now, providing food lovers with access to local organic produce. Then there's Loonsong Garden, the Community Shared Agriculture project started several years ago by Paul Salanki and Heather Thoma. Along with several other local food growers, some with many years of experience, this is a start toward a made-on-Manitoulin food system that could outlast the industrial food system. But there's still a long way to go before we Islanders will be ready to kick the industrial-food addiction. I expect that local food will be a major topic on this blog in the coming year. There's so much to say that i hardly know where to start … suggestions are welcome, and contributions from others even more so! Just click the ‘comment’ button below and write us a note, if you want to volunteer (or just comment).

Political action and the New Economy

Although i'd like to keep the focus of this blog as local as possible, it would be unrealistic to ignore the bigger picture which is the context of what's happening on Manitoulin. So the question arises of political action directed toward the provincial and federal levels of government: what can it contribute toward improving the conditions of life here? Regarding provincial politics: Here's a link to the NDP's new 5 point Economic Stimulus Plan. Linda Willson, who forwarded this link, comments as follows:

You can see that the NDP is coming up with solutions to the economic problems while the conservatives are tossing women out of caucus to make room for their leader, John Tory to capture a seat in Parliament and the Liberals continue to carry on with the same old same old habits of inaction.

I have reviewed the NDP newsletter that outlines the background and platform of those running for the leadership of the party – Howard Hampton and Shelly Martel will be sadly missed. Peter Tabuns is the only one talking about the environment and though Andrea Horwath is good, she does not have environment or rural issues on her radar.

If people want to take part in our democratic process, for a small sum (the cost of a magazine subscription) they can join a party and have a vote in the decision making.

For those who prefer to take part in the process without joining a political party, there are other means. For instance, i hear from the David Suzuki Foundation that:

Over the past few months, thousands of Ontarians like you have successfully helped to support a strong ban on these needless toxic chemicals. But now some industry lobby groups are trying to water down these rules.

This message came with a link that makes it easy to send a letter to your MPP (in our case, Mike Brown) urging him to resist the industry lobby's efforts. The Suzuki Foundation website also facilitates nonpartisan political action at the federal level. For instance, another message i received a few days ago reads:

Before the politicos decide what to do with your money on January 27 (budget day on Parliament Hill), tell them you want the emphasis on “eco” in Canada's economy. We've made it easy for you to write to Jim Flaherty – our federal Minister of Finance – and give him a piece of your mind.

Again, links on the website (and in e-mail messages to subscribers) make this very easy to do. It's easy to be cynical about the real effect of writing to politicians, but it's even easier to say that they will never change course until their constituents demand government support for something other than the corporate status quo. Personally, i have yet to see any political party or elected leader – including Barack Obama – propose a plan that really deals with the crisis (or engages with the opportunity) which humanity is now facing. The real challenge can be stated fairly simply. The entire global economy, with its insistent and totally unrealistic demand for constant ‘growth’, is fueled by cheap oil. Now the cheap oil is running out, and we have to use the little that is left to make the transition to other energy sources, and break our addiction to overproduction, overconsumption and ‘growth’. All the bailouts and ‘stimulus packages’ we have seen so far amount to expensive subsidies for the very habits we need to kick. Trying to restore economic growth is just a way of dragging our feet, because ‘growth’ is the problem, not the solution. For a much better (and only slightly longer) explanation of what a realistic solution would look like, check this excerpt from David Korten's new book, Agenda for a New Economy: From Phantom Wealth to Real Wealth . It's ‘the speech President Obama should deliver … but won't’. David Korten is also one of the people behind YES! Magazine.

Spirit matters and movies

The previous post here emphasized paying attention to the global context. But there's another context to everything we do, which is (strictly speaking) neither global nor local: it is spiritual. The Uprising here is all about living a better life, not just surviving or carrying on the same old self-destructive routine a little longer. But how do we recognize a better life when we see one (or imagine) one? This is not a scientific question, at least not in the usual sense of ‘science’: it's an aesthetic or spiritual question. So in addition to resources informing us about the state of the world, we will pay attention in this space to some resources which can help to orient us towards the deeper sources of inspiration and motivation. One example is a film called The Dhamma Brothers, which John Hawke and Deb Wilson showed at one of our Movies that Matter nights a week ago. It's about the ‘first maximum-security prison in North America to hold an extended Vipassana retreat, an emotionally and physically demanding course of silent meditation lasting ten days. ‘The Dhamma Brothers tells a dramatic tale of human potential and transformation as it closely follows and documents the stories of the prison inmates at Donaldson Correction Facility who enter into this arduous and intensive program.’ If you missed the movie night you might be able to borrow this thought- and practice-provoking DVD from John – contact gnox (at) xplornet -dot- com.

Global context and the Crash Course

The Manitoulin Uprising, or recreation of life on the Island, is happening in a global context of ecological, economic and social situations. We can't understand what's going on here if we don't have some understanding of that context. Part of the mission of this blog is to keep readers informed about some resources for learning what's happening elsewhere on the planet. We maintain an ever-growing resource list of websites, books and DVDs on the gnusystems home page. For instance – the best resource we've found for getting a grip on the broader economic situation, especially here on Turtle Island (‘North America’), is Chris Martenson's Crash Course. You can view each of its 22 chapters online, if you have a reasonably fast Internet connection, but we at gnusystems also have a DVD version you can borrow and view on a regular DVD player (or computer). Either way, it's provided free to users (though once you've seen it, you may wish to donate to the cause of disseminating it further). The Crash Course is not the only resource for understanding the current economic situation, but we think it's a good summary of the basics everyone needs to know in order to make sound economic decisions in these times. And although it is not difficult to understand, it is not something you can learn about through the news offered by the mainstream media. That's why the 3 hours or so you will spend taking the Crash Course could change your life.

Happy New Island

In the coming year, we hope to report and promote the rising of a better way of life on Manitoulin Island. Some of these reports will delve into the details and circumstances of emerging practices here; others will point to resources for learning about the larger context (the state of the planet), or about new ways of living emerging elsewhere, which we could adopt or adapt to our life here. But first we should acknowledge where it's all coming from – the Manitou or spirit behind it all. We live here because it is a sacred place. This doesn't mean that other places are not sacred; indeed some ways of connecting with other people and other places are sacred too. All i mean by ‘sacred’ (or ‘spirit’) here is a sense of connection – if you like other words better, use them instead. The point is that this place is a Manitou and not a mere commodity for us to own or use up. Think of it rather as using us to express itself. Let us become the Manitou's mode of recreation. We love this place because it is far from the hustle of urban life. It's more attuned with the rhythms of nature. As a relatively remote island (insula, in Latin), we are relatively insulated from many of the global systems which are now collapsing. For instance, the ongoing financial ‘meltdown’ may not be so catastrophic here because we never had much of that kind of wealth in the first place. But we are only relatively insulated. Food prices are rising here too – inevitably so, as you can see if you have an eye on the global economy. But we also have another eye, which can see this as an opportunity to become more connected with local food sources. This is one of many ways for the Manitou to recreate itself. In short, we need to keep two eyes open: one for the Manitou and one for the world. One for the spirit animating us all, and one for the information we need to recreate ourselves. This blog is intended to serve the purpose of keeping both eyes open. As always, feel free to comment, suggest resources or future directions, etc.