Healthier cleaning

Growing up I knew that some of the things under the sink were dangerous, but most things my parents used to clean windows, sinks, floors, tubs and more were not seriously dangerous. Today it seems that just about every cleaning item is. And people don't want those kinds of things in their homes.

At the same time, when I was growing up cleaning was hard work, and those chemicals that crept into the cleaning products over the years were intended to make life "easier" and "save time" while imparting a lovely "fresh" scent. But it seems that was short term easy because illness is hard. And I've never understood what happened to all that time that was saved, if it was...

Now we seem to be circling back to the old ways, and that may just involve taking more time and elbow grease to get things clean. I'm really ok with that. What about you?

How can we...

There is much work that needs to be done to create a food system that is sustainable, healthy, profitable and fair. And there are those who say that it can't be done, that healthy food is inevitably going to be out of the reach of the less well off. That it isn't possible to change a culture that is addicted to convenience (even at the expense of health) and disconnected from the seasonal patterns that defined an earlier time. But I refuse to believe that we don't have the grit required to tackle this.

Truth lies in the the statement: "the answers you get depend on the questions you ask." There are people out there who are making attempts to change the system, bit by bit, brick by brick. Asking "how can we create..." is so much more helpful than trying to "fix" something broken. Fixing something without being clear on whether it will work toward a desired future or deliver more of the same is wasting time, resources and spirit.

"Fair Food: growing a healthy, sustainable food system for all" by Oran B. Herserman, PhD provides some jumping off points for people willing to take the risk of going against the grain of the current food system. But if you are like me, it won't feel like a risk, but rather just a logical step toward a better future.

You can learn more about this at the book's website. Oh, and I don't make anything if you buy the book there or anywhere else.

America's soil needs amending

Just like the soil in the garden requires attention to ensure that it maintains its proper balance and distribution of nutrients, it seems our country's culture requires some attention as well. Many people have written about the huge gap between the wealthiest individuals and the least well off. But like a garden requires weeding, watering, occasional soil amendment and crop rotation to do its best and be most productive, we all need to realize our dependence upon each other for success in this culture. There was a particularly good editorial today that addresses this in the New York Times. Read it here.

Included in that editorial was a quote from Elizabeth Warren, who is running for Senate in Massachusetts and who captured this sentiment exactly for me:

“There is nobody in this country who got rich on his own. Nobody. You built a factory out there, good for you. But, I want to be clear: you moved your goods to market on the roads the rest of us paid for. You hired workers the rest of us paid to educate. You were safe in your factory because of police forces and fire forces that the rest of us paid for. You didn’t have to worry that marauding bands would come and seize everything at your factory and hire someone to protect against this because of the work the rest of us did. Now look, you built a factory and it turned into something terrific or a great idea. God bless. Keep a big hunk of it. But part of the underlying social contract is you take a hunk of that and pay forward for the next kid who comes along.”


Gardeners know that you can't just take and take and take from the garden. You have to invest in it as well. No one is entitled to a perfect garden. Or a perfect country. It takes work. 

Image from Rhinestone Armadillo blog