Security for My Homeland

My perception of what homeland security means is not what the Department of Homeland Security wants it to be. DHS wants me to worry about fluids and zip lock bags. I actually worry about the security of our food supply. DHS wants me to worry about how to prepare for a terrorist attack. I actually worry about keeping foreign terrorists from entering our country on foot across our northern or southern borders. Why do we never hear about these issues?

Food security is a huge issue. We are becoming more and more dependent on overseas sources for our food. As our farms become less valuable for producing food, their value as residential or commercial real estate increases under our current system of zoning and property taxes. The fertile valley farmland in and around my community is disappearing. New housing developments or commercial centers are springing up. Obviously, we need places for people to live. Those people will need places to work and shop. Is it impossible to meet those needs without gobbling up farmland?

No. It is possible, and necessary. We must insure a stable supply of food right here at home. While it may be cheaper to import food, I do not believe it can ever be as secure as food produced in our own communities can be. We have no control over production methods overseas. We do not know how safely food is secured during the transportation process over thousands of miles, possibly through multiple ports.

These concerns help explain why I now buy much more locally produced food than before. It doesn't hurt that the food is fresher and tastes better. Freshly picked strawberries and tomatoes beat the large grocery store versions hands down. It is more expensive to buy the produce I buy, but it is money well spent.

It is not as if we are starving in this country. I wonder if the rate of obesity among Wal Mart shoppers and their families is greater than at "higher priced" grocery stores. Are those shoppers merely reacting to the always low prices by purchasing and consuming more than necessary? It is apparently true that lower income groups tend to have a higher rate of obesity. I certainly can't prove the low price connection, but it's worth thinking about. That cheap food tends to come from large farm conglomerates through large corporations, often from places far away. Much of it is highly processed, which generally has a negative impact on nutrition and health. We use large amounts of fuel transporting the food to where it will be used. The fuel we are so dependent on the Middle East for. And no, drilling in ANWR won't solve that problem.

What is our collective paranoia doing to us socially? Recently, birders posting to the listserv called Tweeters have been relating stories of being accosted by security workers near some corporate sites. Their transgression? Looking at and photographing birds using high powered optics while on public property. Some have suggested that potential terrorist attacks are the reason for the security concerns. Others cite corporate espionage. Personally, I doubt either type of scoundrel would be as obvious as a bird watcher with a giant scope or lens on a big sturdy tripod stumbling around a popular birding spot.

If you really want to make good use of our military, bring them home and use them to patrol our porous borders. I figure if poor, unarmed Mexicans looking for work can get into the U.S., it should be no problem for heavily armed, well-funded terrorists. Besides, we would solve two problems: terrorists infiltrating the homeland, and illegal immigrants competing for American jobs. Three problems solve, really: We would start to lose that reputation as an imperialist bully we have so deservedly earned in recent years.