composting: an easy answer for a big problem

composting could be the solution to global warming, world poverty and famine, war, american health insurance policies, divorce, the economic situation, and even the ridiculous dissonance and conflict among religious sects.

let me explain.

we are human beings who live and exist primarily in a physical world, though the actual boundaries or realities of our experience just on earth transcends far beyond the physical realm, we'll start there. our species, along with every other living organism and system here functions based on relationships. our physical health depends on the food we ingest and the beautiful way that our bodies use the nutrients found within our foods;in what context we grow and enjoy and relate to our food. as a result the way we exist with one another will unmistakeably be restored.

"if the soil that we grow our food in is sick, so will be the grasses that grow in that soil and the cattle or chickens that eat the grasses and vegetables and the people who drink the milk from them or eat their meat" (Michael Pollan, In Defense of Food).

if we get sick, as 2/3 of American are due to the 'food' we eat and the dysfunctional relationship we have with our food, we are less likely to be healthy in other aspects of life; our relationships with other humans, animals, god, our ability to create, to feel whole and alive and to enjoy life the way we have been designed to live. if we don't have good soil (now including the metaphorical sense of the word)to plant our seeds in that will reap nourishing food, the rest of the system rapidly deteriorates.

"the dinner we have eaten tonight was a part of the sun but a few months ago"- albert howard, the philosophical father of the organic farming movement


wouldn't it be great if all throughout america we could be proud of the foods we eat, professing that our health comes from a right relationship between soil, plant, animal, and man, that the nutrients we ingest are direct components of natural carbon and mineral sources like the sun, the soil, the vitamins of this physical world.

what if we all started to practice the simple, organic, logical, satisfying practice of composting? what if all the little humans scurrying about the earth began to cultivate our own nutrient rich soil and use that soil to plant, to grow, to feed, to heal ourselves and one another? think of everything that could happen.

people would feel better. the waste-not-want-not mentality might just begin to soak in. we might all be able to provide for ourselves and change the way we eat, which would change our natural bodily chemistry, affecting our emotions and our relationships with other people. we might not have to go to the doctor and worry about our health insurance because we would provide for ourselves the natural foods that equip our bodies to thrive. we might not need to spend money on cars and gasoline if we don't have to drive so far to the grocery store because 1/2 of our food is grown right above the place we lay our heads down at night, in a delicious, beautiful, fragrant rooftop garden. we might have more people over for dinner because the taste of the food would be tantalizing and we would want to talk about each others gardens, we might want to spend time getting lost in conversation over wine and hear about the struggles and joys in our lives.

someday...we might all understand and pursue organic communal creativity. we might all once again live off the land, be it local community gardens or good local organic farms. i'm not advocating for the abandonment of modern innovative technologies, but just advocating their refinement and examination.

it all starts in our soil. composting, eating as we're designed to and living wholly is not complicated, its quite easy, and the benefits are exponential.
check it out. try it for yourself. see how you feel. share about your experience here or with friends. pass the message on...

http://www.treehugger.com (great site for green building, energy, gardening, renewables)
http://www.solanacenter.org/Backyard%20Composting%20Brochure%20April%202004.pdf( great guide to backyard composting)