In the beginning

When my sister introduced me to Macrobiotics (big life) in the 80s while we were both living in Toronto and I became aware of its history* and principles I was a bit confused when I found the community aspiring to a rural Japanese diet of basically rice and seaweed. The direction is very clear that we were supposed to be eating fresh, pesticide free, local foods in season. In down town Toronto that would be free range, organic, hamburger and pizza I joked. But seriously, to be following the principles would actually mean researching the pre-conquest indigenous diet and working towards making an analogous choice available again.

I returned to the home (bioregion, watershed, ecosystem and house) of my birth for good in 1994 and immediately set out to "discover" (my owning class, white privilege) what our Trini bush had to offer as edible.

The Orinoco watershed bioregion

The St Ann's watershed

*As the legend goes, a well to do, urban, young man contracts Tuberculosis in the period between the last two European tribal wars and is sent to live out his remaining days in a rural sanatorium. At some point his attention is drawn to the life of the farmers working their fields nearby and the question arises, "how come they are so healthy and I am so sick." He is allowed to go out and meet with them and develops a relationship where he is welcomed to eat with them. Within time his condition goes into remission and he returns to his family. He decides to study medicine and specialises in lung diseases. Upon graduation he sets up a clinic on the floor of an apartment building on the outskirts of Nagasaki. His patients are put on a traditional rural Japanese diet. When the H bomb is dropped on his city in 1945, the US marines wait a short while for the radiation to subside before they go in to study the effects of their scientific experiment. What they found is that everyone in that building was suffering from radiation sickness except the people on the Doctor's floor.

"DAT IS DIET FADDAH"