Monday, November 23, 2009

Food ...at your doorstep ?



Well, it's been a busy and productive year. We planted fruit trees & berries of every description .
We are looking forward to the production of our own fruit. We are excited to have the space for that sort of food security ! Google 'food security'....
We fenced a garden area and built a compost bin from used pallets ( and by we I mean hubby of course - but I supervise :-) We ( seriously...WE ) had a bumper crop of veggies and we ( and by we I mean I) preserved jams and relishes and salsa & even a batch of runny but tasty homemade ketchup. We didn't plant quite enough potatoes to last the winter ( live & learn) but we have enough for another month or so .
We don't have snow yet but Pierre has raked & mulched all the leaves and added them to the garden to be roto-tilled into the soil in spring.
Food security & safety is something we take for granted here but really the question is....should we ? When you think about it, much of what the average North American eats comes from over 2,000kms away. 1 little glitch, be it a trucking strike, a global catastrophe , a pandemic , gas hikes, whatever and your food either becomes less accessible, much more expensive or NOT accessible. I remember going to the store one day last year to find out something had knocked out ALL the interact/ credit card systems in town ! NOBODY was taking anything except cash. Another time the electricity went out and nobody could use their cash registers so everyone shut down. So are we prepared ? Does everyone have enough food to make it through for a few days, a few weeks ? Does everyone ( does ANYONE ) still carry cash ? Do you have seeds , a well stocked pantry ? Drinking water ? Definitely food for thought !

No comments: