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Arkansas
Local Foods Initiative Mission Statement
The mission of the Arkansas Local Foods Initiative (ALFI)
is to serve as a catalyst
and educational resource for the purpose of encouraging
a healthy local food system
in the state. Sustainability, nutritional health, social
justice and economic development
in relation to the local food system are the main goals
of ALFI. ALFI hopes to highlight
and further encourage the growth of urban agriculture
projects as well as foster
the relationship between rural producers and urban consumers.
It
is not new to human society for healthy foods to be
reserved for those that can afford them,
but
at this time in our history we live in a world where
producing healthy foods can be done efficiently enough
for everyone to share in the bounty. The current industrial
agricultural model produces a lot of calories per acre
but those calories are largely empty and used for producing
foods that are high in fat and low in beneficial nutrient
content. High fructose corn syrup and junk meat
are our largest source of calories from the conventional
farming model.
In
2006, humans became an urban mammal.
This is a first in our collective history. More of us,
the world over, live in cities than in rural areas.
We are developing our arable lands in order to erect
housing to accommodate that change. In addition,
we have begun to dedicate our most productive land to
crops for fuel. This turn of events will show
itself to be shortsighted and untenable. Our growth
pattern is not sustainable and has lead to shortages
in many resources, including food.
The
move to urban environments ushers in an era in which
children grow up having
no ties to the land that sustains them.
Please
visit these links for more information:
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