Everyday is Food Day here at Brown Bag, but we’re always happy to see people paying attention to the topic of healthy, sustainable food in the world at large—and large is an appropriate word for this day because events will be taking place all across the country to celebrate!
Food Day’s hope is that people will “Eat Real.” In other words, they want people to turn away from sodas, chips and other processed, salty/greasy foods, and meat containing chemicals like hormones and antibiotics. They want to people to pull out of that drive-thru line and hit the nearest farmer’s market, pick up organic fruits and veggies, feast on proteins raised in humane and sustainable ways, and get back to a food system that works.
In 2011, there were 2300 events across the country to celebrate Food Day and educate people about healthy food, eating better, and looking at ways to get us back to the source of our food instead of plucking it out of a vacuum-sealed bag. In 2012, there were 3200 events. Every year, the number of people turning away from processed foods and taking a closer look at what they’re really eating (and how what they’re eating affects the world at large) is growing—and we couldn’t be happier!
Food Day lists its national priorities as:
Promote safer, healthier diets.
Support organic and sustainable farms.
Reduce hunger.
Reform factory farms to protect the environment and farm animals.
Support fair working conditions for food and farm workers.
In support of Food Day, all over the country people will be taking part in educational programs to teach kids about healthy eating habits, food safety, and cooking; there will be festivals, food drives and even green house projects so that students can grow their own vegetables. In Nyack, New York, a group is hosting a “Focus on Food” art exhibit. But Food Day doesn’t have to be a huge event for everyone, and it doesn’t have to just last one day.
If you’re a loyal Brown Bagger, then you know how we feel about eating healthy (and making that healthy food delicious and fast!) and doing our part to reduce our negative impact on the Earth. We do this everyday. What the people behind Food Day are hoping is that you will, too. Food Day is intended as a focal point, a day to celebrate the work that people have been doing every day, all year long to educate and empower people to take more interest into what they put into their bodies and how their food choices affect the big picture—the Earth as a whole.
What will do you for Food Day? Find a local celebration and go mingle with some like-minded foodies? Go meatless? Let this be the first day of your journey toward being a more informed eater? We’re going to keep doing what we do: spreading the food word on eating healthy, sustainable food, and doing all we can to take care of the planet we inhabit. Visit our Facebook or Twitter pages and let us know what you have planned!
