Do you know your farmer?

A couple of months ago, Greenville Forward partnered with The Warehouse Theatre to host a screening of "Food, Inc." Personally, I was challenged and shocked by the things I saw and learned from the documentary. It inspired me to delve deeper into finding out where our food is coming from and to respond appropriately when I learned the scary answers to this question.

As an organization, we be

lieve in starting these important conversations and getting the community together to discuss issues that Greenville County faces. Through our Momentum Series luncheons, we have broached numerous difficult topics and started dialogue on topics that need to be discussed to help Greenville continue to grow and develop positively.

The "Food, Inc." screening was unique in that its impact was more profound than we ever imagined. We sold out tickets to the event and received vast press attention. We also had the unique opportunity to invite some of our local farmers and growers to talk to our audience about how they grow their food and why it is important to support them.

After making these connections, Greenville Forward has continued conversations with these local farmers and we have been working to educate ourselves so that we can carry the momentum from the "Food, Inc." event to fight off Greenville's health problems ranging from obesity to other nutrition-related illnesses. We made visits to Greenbrier Farms and the Happy Cow Creamery and I personally visited Split Creek Farms as well. We talked to the farmers and learned about how they are organic and sustainable, and how they are working to make their products more readily available to the Greenville and upstate communities.

I learned many things, too many to share in just one blog post, but one of the greatest things I carried with me was this---We are a sick nation with more obesity-related illnesses than ever before. We have unhealthy habits and visit doctors more often as a result. We know our doctors by name and our pharmacists. However, for the most part we have no idea who our farmers are. We do not know who made our food and if it is really safe for our bodies.

Think of the difference it would make if everyone knew their farmer by name---they would eat less trans fats, high fructose corn syrup, genetically modified foods, sugar, and fat in general. Now, I know that overall, this kind of diet seems more expensive and is less accessible, but it is something to ponder.

Think about it...do you have any idea where your food came from that you ate today? And, does that scare you just a little bit?