We are what we eat.

Easy to say but the truth goes even deeper. What we eat (and how we buy our food) doesn’t just affect our own bodies and minds, it has a massive impact on nature, our environment and climate change.

Big food companies have a lot to answer for.

Our food systems (and often our politicians) are currently controlled by a few powerful companies whose objective, despite what they say, isn’t to make us happy, feed the world or support local growers. It’s to make as big a profit as possible.

Don’t believe me?

Here are a few examples of how big food companies put money-making ahead of the needs of their customers (aka you and me).

• By patenting seeds they make sure growers have to buy new seed each year instead of saving their own seed (which saves money and develops stronger crops)
• By selling genetically modified seed that is only resistant to their own brands of herbicides, seed companies lock farmers into buying from them
• By employing food scientists to come up with super-palatable, unhealthy ultra-processed ‘food’ that also happens to be super cheap to make
• By aggressively marketing these non-natural foods through strategic store layout, intensive targeted advertising and sensory stimulation
• By tying our farmers into growing super-specific crops then paying low and inconsistent prices, or even cancelling contracts

This isn’t a broken food system.

It’s one that has been deliberately created.

I’ve never enjoyed supermarket shopping but I do love food and being outside.

And having worked on farms when I was younger, I know how hard the work is for often low and unpredictable returns.

So in 2023, fed up with hearing about our unjust food system, I decided to avoid supermarket shopping for a whole year. I completed the year, learned a lot and haven’t returned to the supermarket way of life since.

Because buying food from farmers’ markets and local shops is more expensive than buying it from big supermarkets, and because I’m self-employed and on a relatively low wage, I’ve had to be creative (I do also shop locally):

• I’ve learned how to forage my own wild foods
• I’ve discovered that permaculture principles work well for me
• I’ve learned about food forests and translated this to my urban garden
• I’ve experimented with more meat-free meals
• I’ve found a great local ‘waste food’ supplier

You would imagine all this change would have been a struggle but I’ve loved (almost) every minute of it. Sourcing food in this way takes more time but it’s so satisfying. Not only that, I’ve also lost weight and feel healthier and happier than I have for years. If you’re looking for a new food adventure, why not follow along and see where mine takes me.

Follow my food adventures on Instagram.