The much-awaited monsoon was the star of the month. The summer heat and drought had spread across the country, resulting in scarcity of drinking water in villages with dry wells, rivers and lakes. Farmers were praying for an early monsoon. There’s no better time than now to think and be active about protecting Nature for the sake of our future generation.
June 5 was World Environment Day, and there was a lot of publicity among the farming community and on social media to make it a special celebration by planting trees and to alert the public to observe it as a purposeful occasion as we try hard to be green again. It’s not easy to measure the appreciation from young people who take this initiative and continue the good work of visionaries. At Gurukul, we embraced the idea with devotion and planted as many fruit trees as possible. All visitors on the day also participated in the exercise.
It’s also a good occasion to think about what the food industry could contribute to overall efforts of the growing green revolution. There’s a strong group of farmers tirelessly working to protect nature and our food supply. In a meeting of local professionals, it was identified that the young population of the world has to understand the need for living sustainably; that’s the only way we can pay back the efforts of people who work hard for our wellbeing. The future of agriculture shouldn’t be just the interest of small farmers; they would need the appreciation and support of every citizen.
Thinking aloud on how to attract the youth to ground realities, it’s a conceivable thought to reach out to them through food. With imaginative interactions and flexibility of time, the new generation can be tempted to eat quality meals against junk food. That will help the idea of healthy food to grow within a wider population, and simultaneously give tremendous motivation for our farmers who continually fight against hostile weather, volatile demand and unfair prices for their products.
In the past, every one in the family—children, women and the elderly—equally contributed to agriculture. It’s appropriate to organise festivals where the harvest will be combined with music, dance and natural games as people celebrated Nature’s blessings in the old days.
Planting trees and spreading mindfulness through media is a good measure, but for sustaining this initiative, we need to involve the public. This is the most important challenge of our times, to balance the ecosystem and strive towards a healthier and happier lifestyle. Food is the most conclusive support system to encourage this proactive momentum and help us to grow these positive ideas.
Apart from plentiful benefits for us, trees symbolise unique characteristics that have been adorable to those who fathomed their revered existence. Their timeless messages on selfless giving and perseverance against all odds could benefit us whilst dealing with our tough lives. It simply means we don’t need to go too remote for our answers, just look at a tree which endlessly offers its fruits of love for our happiness and stays on effortlessly to prove the power of confidence.
The author is a London-based restaurateur who owns the Rasa chain of restaurants