Sustaining Organic Food – Alicia Procello Maddox
Alicia Procello Maddox and the Avery Dennison Foundation have made it their goal to better equip the world and its people to conserve and live in a more sustainable, environmentally friendly world. Their latest project is no different. Pesticides and other toxic compounds have been used in farming for many years. However due to environmentally friendly alternatives and the association of certain chemicals to chronic diseases, much of the world is learning to go without the use such chemicals. A small village in Mexico, Venustiano Carranza, has seen some of the worst effects of pesticide use. In recent years there has been a large increase in the number of women in the community experiencing malnutrition, illness and even death due to poor diet and consumption of crops contaminated with pesticides and carcinogens. In order to help combat this issue Alicia Procello Maddox and the foundation have given a local group a grant to establish a large-scale, environmentally-friendly, self-sustaining organic food production center. This space will not only serve as a production center for pesticide-free foods, but it will also be used for training the local communities farmers on better farming practices. The center plans to educate the community on sustainability (in all aspects), nutrition, composting, and management of poultry and other meats. The project has been a huge success, and hopes to continue and educate further generations of Mexicans on sustainability, and better farming practices.