Northwest Suburban mom seeks sustainability

This may not be a news flash - especially to anyone who read Michael Pollen's Omnivore Dilemma - but I am beginning a journey into a more intentional relationship with mother earth. This is not the very front end of this particular trip for me. I've been awestruck by gaia's majesty since I was a little kid. My family - for more generations then I can count, has worked and lived by the land. Even my parents, white collar professionals, bought a small tractor and grew vegetables, poultry and apple trees. I have always known the difference between a store bought tomato and one that I pulled directly off the vine to pop in my mouth.

I think the last time I was in a fast food restaurant was four years ago and only because I was traveling and literally nothing else was open. I also was sick within an hour. Like a vegetarian who hasn't had meat in years and suddenly finds themselves eating it - the results aren't pretty because the body rebels against that which it simply no longer has tolerance for. As a family, we've been buying organic for over the past ten years and one of my primary hobbies has been raising what vegetables I could for the table. We recycle, drive a hybrid vehicle and burn biodiesal in our boat.

It wasn't until the last couple of years that I started to wonder about sustainability and deep ecology. Doing all of the things above are a great beginning. Unfortunately, as with so many realities in this world, each choice has more choices associated with it. Simply choosing to eat organic is no longer a rally cry for green living. Not with corporate America quickly coming into the market with their own version of what organic looks like. The loops holes are many, the proverbial bottom line being money and suddenly what seemed so simple once again becomes complicated and confusing.

And so here I sit with questions that effect me on the most fundamental level: what am I putting into my body? What is my carbon footprint? Do I really want to buy tasteless organic tomatoes from Mexico in January?

Who do I want to be in this world?

I stand in my local Whole Foods market and have always seen the massive abundance of choices put before me as a buyer of organic products. As I ask questions, that abundance is becoming tarnished by a disquieting concern for where all of this comes from. How far did it travel and just what kind of farm were those dairy cows raised on?

This blog is about my exploration into what I want my relationship with the world (gaia) to be. Gaia comes from the greek words Ge (γη) = Earth, and *aia = grandmother. She is also a greek goddess. The Gaia hypothesis in ecology basically states that the living and non living parts of the earth are a complex, integral system that is deeply connected as a whole. For me, Gaia represents a living world with which I interact and can effect. Even one small human being can cause ripples that can change the world. I honor the grandmother earth and plan to explore more fully how I can support her splendor.

I expect you'll find posts about gardening and cooking as well as my own forays into the politics of agriculture. I hope that if you have insight to share on anything that I am writing you will share it and point me in directions of new learning.

Welcome