coverartist


letterfrompublisher


One of the best things about being in Southwest Florida this time of year is the abundance of sun-ripened, locally grown organic foods. Once you’ve tasted them, it’s tough to settle for anything less. We are reminded, in “America’s Growing Food Revolution,” on page 36, that each time we choose to eat organic, we are likely doing the single (and most do- able) action we can take to protect our environment and our health.


Thus, local organic farmers have become my superhe-


Garden Greens & Peppers by Ginger Irwin


During her childhood growing up on a farm in Wisconsin, Ginger Irwin found creative expression through drawing and painting. Today, her self-taught fine artistry reflects the styles and tech- niques of a wide range of influences, from the great masters to the Impressionists and Modernists. Irwin’s works are both deeply per- sonal and universal in their subject mat- ter. Dipping into the vibrant wellspring of her own dreams, she has embarked upon numerous studies of animals, sacred spaces and heroic figures. The artist lives in Petaluma, Cali- fornia, where the opening of a Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Bank inspired her recent series of fresh-from-the-garden pastels of rare flowers, fruits and veg- etables. Irwin’s succulent images beau- tifully illustrate Baker Creek’s bounty of heirloom varietals and reflect her growing interest in portraying natural splendors.


A devoted wife, mother and doting grandmother, Irwin says she is trying to make the world a better place. “All of us are connected—our bodies are part of a universal body, our minds an as- pect of the universal mind—so we need to work together.”


View the artist’s portfolio at GingersArts.com.


6 Collier/Lee Counties


roes. I treat them like the most important people in town. Here’s why: The problem in a nutshell. Unholy alliances have formed between the companies that produce agriculture chemicals and genetically altered seeds. The widely publicized results now include: an agricultural educational system widely biased by subsidies from those same companies; targeted government agencies in thrall to their powerful lobbyists; and perpetuation of agribusiness farming prac- tices that are damaging our health and destroying America’s natural environment. They’ve been at it for half a century. A few telling facts. In my research of the literature, I was surprised to learn


that manmade agricultural chemicals currently account for approximately two- thirds of all water pollution. Maria Rodale, author of Organic Manifesto, reports that scientists have estimated that it would take an immediate 45 percent reduc- tion in the amount of chemicals applied to our continental soils to have any impact at all on slowing the growth of the dead zones in our coastal waters. Did you know that 60 percent of the fresh water in the United States is used for agricultural purposes? When it’s sprayed onto conventional crops, all the ap- plied toxic pesticides, herbicides and manmade fertilizer chemicals leach through the soil and into waterways and wells, to poison our rivers and streams (and fish), bays and oceans and yes, our drinking water.


The International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Tech- nology for Development maintains that it’s possible to feed and sustain the entire world totally through organic cultivation. More, Rodale Institute’s Farm System Trial has concluded that organically farmed soil stores so much carbon dioxide that, if all the cultivated land in the world were farmed organically, it would have the immediate effect of reducing our climate crisis significantly. What can we do? We can take back our food supply system and we can do it quickly enough to save our health and our environment. I urge you to voice your concerns at every opportunity; we can all start by signing the Food Democ- racy Now petition in this month’s Action Alert, on page 25. Vote, too, with your consumer dollars, by purchasing organic food.


Month after month, I read news of scientific data pointing out why organic agriculture is a key to solving many current global issues, from climate crisis, hunger and public health to revitalizing farming communities and restoring critical environments.


We still have time, although not much, to heal the planet and keep us all safe and fed. You’ll find plenty of persuasive resources in this month’s special Natural Foods action issue. I also encourage everyone to make it a point to meet our local organic food growers and make them your new best friends, too! See pages 39-42 for easy ways to connect.


There is a life-defining revolution underway—I invite you to join in today if you haven’t already.


Organically yours, Sharon Bruckman


swfl.naturalawakeningsmag.com


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