Between the lines...

I recently connected with someone from my bio-regional community who had wonderful things to say about the message of the local grain initiative. In our meeting, this person shared a story with me that brought them to tears. It was a powerful story and gave me great joy to hear in someone else's words a similar message of hope and promise for the magnificence of this planet earth. Baking this seemingly elusive loaf of bread should not be seen as the central focus of this quest. If we take the bread out of the equation, the message still resounds:

Moving towards a more locally produced and consumed diet will restore damaged ecological and social relationships around food.

Restoring ecological damage, damage that has been perpetuated through the unsustainable absurdity of a global food system is our duty as citizens of the planet earth.

Making a covenant with the ecological systems on the planet earth to refrain from causing further degradation will bring us closer to an understanding of the human place in this universe.

Repairing social relationships associated with food will effect our physical health and our social health. Our social health has sustained human communities since their beginnings.

Interspecies relationships will flourish after the assault on this beneficent planet ends. Through these relationships we will begin to understand many things about life that are obscured from view simply because we believe they cannot exist. A tree, a mountain stream, a crow and myself can share a moment of communication and understanding.

Local grain has its role to play. The local grain initiative is not suggesting that we retreat to an archaic time in human history where we gathered grains and milled them with crude tools into nearly indigestible cakes. In the present day, local grain will find its way into a harmonious relationship with appropriate technology, a just economy and the surrounding ecology. This you can count on....