Written by Divya Janardhanan
The last 2 years have been extremely challenging after our world got exposed to the virus. We are still fighting it and with the 2nd wave that our country saw a few months ago, it felt horrible, almost like a dead end for so many of us when we were locked in again at our homes.
When a new virus suddenly got the whole world to its knees, people started realizing what it meant to not move around, how it felt like being locked up physically indoors, to not be "FREE"!
Somehow, being tied up inside and the consequent burnout got magnified during the lockdown; but think about it, how "free" were we in the real sense of that word, in the pre-covid world?
Did we ever know what it feels like to live without fear?
Fear of failure - of underperformance,
Fear of disease - that we are conditioned to accept as inevitable as we grow older,
Fear of society - of what will people say,
Fear of dysfunctional governments - of hostile bureaucracy,
Fear of food that harms you,
Fear of medicines that trigger side effects,
Fear of people who judge you or deny you their trust,
Fear of politics, of conspiracies, of aging, of constant content, of parenting standards, of peer pressure, of body shaming, of death!
Was this ever a life that was truly free?
Maybe not, we think.
But to live a life that is a celebration of the idea of freedom, is a choice we can most certainly make. None of us are spared on life's battlefield - but true champions are the ones who never stop believing, who constantly seek to transform their suffering to stories that inspire and expand the shared walls of our human potential.
So, here's a thought - it's time we reinterpret freedom not as the absence of fear but the conquering of it. It's time we stand up for the beauty, wildness and strength of the earth and her precious resources - the rivers, ponds, the air, the rain, the wind, the insects, the worms, the trees, the fruits, the fields, the animals - that tirelessly breathe their grace into our lives.
As farmers, we pledge to keep finding solutions to some of these fears through the food we grow and bring to your homes.
Imagine walking into any supermarket or local grocery shop and not having to worry about the food you pick up - if it will make you sick over time, where fresh fruits, vegetables and grains are brought to people in their most cleanest, natural states.
Organic must STOP being a buzzword! Together, we can make this happen. Imagine every consumer in the city choosing the shorter value chains of farmer markets where they can shake the hand and look in the eye of the farmer who grow their food!
We have the corona Virus only now virus, but since the last many many decades we have been carrying on with the burden of lifestyle diseases - obesity and type 2 diabetes are so deeply wired into our existence on this planet, that people have now become accepting and almost indifferent to these conditions, they seem so natural and everywhere like air and water.
Diabetes Infographic Source - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
link - https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/library/socialmedia/infographics/diabetes-youth-threat.html
Obesity Infographic Source - Times of India
We must realize that most packaged food options freely available are designed to be addictive. We live and breathe through a nutritional environment that is toxic. At TBOF, we truly aspire to make a difference in this space.
Nowadays, there is a growing online trend of mocking and shaming people who have no option but to pick such food that is their only choice. To blame them alone for their choices is unfair when what is available for them to eat is what is grown on a large scale, subsidized heavily and made available everywhere to buy with attractive misinforming advertising.
Freedom for us farmers will be a reality when our food becomes accessible to such people, who feel heavily, severely deprived today, by limited resources and ill health.
To build a healthy world today definitely feels rebellious, A REVOLUTION we'll have to call it, if we must! And there is no way in the world, we farmers can do this without you!
Happy Independence Day Fam!
