These days I've been thinking a lot about where my food comes from, who grows it and how. I've been buying more fair-trade products, especially chocolate, because the quality is unbeatable. I've been learning more and more at university each day about so much -- I've never known more about the food world than now. I'm so grateful for my education in food and nutrition.
There is so much to discuss, but let's start with the basic principles of food law -- safety, quality and traceability. I decided to research tofu as part of my school project. I was disappointed to discover that the "organic" tofu I buy here in Stockholm, from a Swedish company, is actually not at all Swedish. When I called the company, I found out that the soya beans used to make the tofu come from BRAZIL and that the tofu is produced in Finland. The soya beans arrive by boat from Brazil to Finland, then by truck to Sweden. That's a lot of transport and energy being used up. But the thing that shocked me the most was that these beans were grown in place of what was a rainforest. I decided that I cannot support the destruction of the rainforest for my food. And sadly, 90% of the soya beans grown in Brazil are feed for animals that are being slaughtered for human consumption.
I'm trying to be more compassionate. It can be overwhelming on how to help but I try to buy fair-trade on especially those items I use the most -- tea, coffee, chocolate, sugar, etc. and I try to eat locally at least once a week -- for me that means root vegetables as that's what's available here in Sweden in the winter. Every drop makes an ocean.
And while I've been thinking about all these things, my brave little brother has actually done something amazingly positive regarding this subject matter. He has started an eyeglass company that gives eyeglasses to underprivileged kids locally after each purchase. Not to mention the glasses themselves look amazing and I want to buy every pair myself, especially sunglasses for the summer! Here is his website:
http://www.dharmaco.com/
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