Culture

accommodate nature in our lives.
Our ecosystems provide us with so
many services. There are other ways

to deal with pests.’ He expresses
concern that removing
biodiversity from
natural systems
through

the use of
products
such as

GMOs is

particularly
dangerous
in the face of
the challenges
humanity will be
facing as a result

of climate change.

Specifically, he
questions whether the
genetic

homogeneity

of GM crops
will ultimately
cripple food

U® production ina
* + .

quickly changing

environment.

Despite the

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,
f

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honoringtheinventor.blogspot.com

concerns expressed by Canadians

in diverse sectors of society, our
government has refused to label GM
foods. According to the Canadian Bio-
technology Action Network, this refusal
occurs in spite of "10 years of polling
that show over 80% of Canadians
want these labels,” and the fact that
“at least 4O countries around the
world have labeling laws including [the]
Europelan Union], China and Russia.”

According to the Health Canada
website, “Currently in Canada,
labelling is mandatory if there is a
health or safety issue with a food,
which might be mitigated through
labelling,” however, "as consumers in a
free country we should have a right to
know what foods have GM products,”
argues Dr. Fredeen, adding that, in
Canada, "Organic food usually is not

GM!

Dr. Scott Green, Associate Professor
and ecologist at UNBC, finds it

useful to examine the issue from a
historical perspective. He says that
how and what we eat has changed
dramatically over the last fifty years.
"When | was a kid, we ate much more
seasonally. And a lot of our food
came from local farmers.” According to
Dr. Green it is important to understand
that things have changed really fast
"based on an economic model" that
has led us to standardize almost
everything.

"Food is very cross-cutting in society. It
is a social thing,” explains Dr. Green,
whose work focuses on communities
and on “understanding how people
are connected to other people and
to their environments.” He says that

in many indigenous communities, the
way people view food reflects a

eep connection and dependence
on each other and on their
environments. In contrast, in a
globalized, contemporary society,
he sees disturbing trends in human
expressions of interconnection.
J } For those of us who live in

"dominant western societies, food
is just another commodity.” He
expresses deep concern with the
way our society seems to centre on
the consumption of goods and the
idea of progress. "Right now, we're
facing a crisis of identity,” which
he believes is tied to this focus on
economic growth, above alll else.
Dr. Green argues that in order
for us fo have a sense of meaning

and identity as individuals, we need

to understand where we come from.
“We have little sense of history and
tradition - those things that define who
we are as Canadians, Americans,

or whoever.’ In his eyes, the western
notion of progress at all costs, which

is so inherent in modern concepts of
growth and consumption of GM foods,
is deeply tied to this disconnection
between us and the foods that we eat.
It is this same disconnection that he
believes leads to alarmingly high levels
of loneliness, depression, and addiction
in our society.

Dr. Green believes that it would be a
powertul step towards positive change
if we considered "how what we eat
retlects where we live.’ Or in many
cases how it does not. He says that in
his work with communities, with farmers,
with students and with the UFM, he
has found that, for many people,
interest in local food is often about "the
chance to look the farmer in the eye;
to know the person producing their
food." It is about relationships. "The
longing for connection is embedded in
our own bones. It's innate; it's part of
who we are as humans.

Perhaps it is this same innate longing
for connection and understanding that
has caused people all over the world
to take to the streets, asking; what are
we eating? Why are we eating this?
How is it affecting our lives? And is this
the way we want things to be?

Perhaps it is these same questions that
drive people in our own community,
and many others, to seek out alternate
ways of getting food, whether it is

in back gardens, community plots, at
community markets or from good food
boxes.

The undeniable truth is this; you are not
just buying bananas when you shop
at the supermarket, you are choosing
a way of life, and casting a vote

for food and labour standards that
reverberates all around the world.

For Dr. Green, he sees great hope

for future change. However, his hope
does not reside in the actions of
governments or corporations, but from
the things people living in communities
are doing, the ways in which they

are achieving sustainability in different
contexts, and through understanding
their relationships with each other and
the relationships they have with their
environments. ‘In the end, sustainability
is about relationships. That's how we're
made.”