Food saved my life. By changing what I ate, my mood, skin, and energy transformed. This is my story of how real food, local farms, and conscious choices became the best investment in my health.
Written by
Keegan Francis
Keegan Francis is the Chief Technology Officer of Food Web. He brings 10+ years of experience building and leading technical teams in FinTech startups. From Halifax, Nova Scotia, to internationally operating companies, Keegan has brought and scaled several applications making him an ideal candidate to lead the Technology of Food Web.
Where meals are made.
When I think about the role of food in my life, it has saved me. After I began making conscious decisions about the foods I put in my body, I noticed positive changes in my mood, skin, and digestive system. Without paying close attention and shifting my diet, I would have found myself in a depressive decline that may very well have resulted in my early and untimely death. My Kitchen became my pharmacy, and visiting the farmers' markets became a part of my routine. I want to share what Iāve learned along the way, with the intention of inspiring you to make similar changes.
Health became my wealth. Food and everything that comes with it rooted me in an everlasting system of continuous improvements. To this day, I reap the benefits of a healthy diet and lifestyle. Itās not like I donāt have my stumbling blocks or my mishaps when it comes to my diet. Iām human after all, I make a ton of mistakes. But at the root of my dietary ethos is that if I am healthy and feeling well, then wealth follows.
From this perspective, health is the best investment I will ever make. For my Bitcoiner friends, this may come as a surprising revelation. But I will repeat, āYou cannot eat money!ā Speaking like your financial advisor for a moment, allocating your time, money, and attention to health is a long-term game. It requires consistent contributions to see results. Once you get the compounding flywheel effect in motion, you too can see your returns blossom in the form of health you may not have known was possible for me. This certainly was the case for me.
One of the more important lessons I learned early into my food journey was that not all food is created (or grown) equally. I grew up with the belief that a carb is a carb is a carb. Some people still try to tell me this. I stubbornly refuse to believe that sugarcane grown with pesticides and processed into white sugar is the same thing as Jaggery (a common, unprocessed sugar in India).
Many factors go into what makes one piece of food different from the same food produced differently. Not all cows are raised the same way. Not all spinach is grown the same way. Not all fish are bred and raised the same way. Let us dig (pun intended) into what makes our food different.
Letās start from the ground up. Or rather, what is underneath the ground. The health of the soil largely dictates the nutritional value of our food. Everything from the pesticides used (or not used), to nitrogen content, to whether or not the field was or is being monocropped. It all matters and factors into the health of the soil and the nutrition of the food that comes out of it.
I started paying attention to pesticides because I could feel the difference in my body when I moved away from food grown with heavy chemical use. These chemicals were designed to kill living organisms, and even though we are not insects, we still interact with the residue every day. Due to my skin condition and dietary concerns, my body didnāt need another stressor to fight off. Reducing my exposure was one of the first changes that noticeably improved my skin and energy. It felt like removing a weight I didnāt realize I had been carrying.
Choosing organic wasnāt about chasing a trend for me; it was about noticing how my body responded to food that was grown with a bit more intention. Organic doesnāt mean perfect, but it often means fewer synthetic chemicals and farming practices that try to respect the land. When I started leaning into organic options, my digestion and energy levels shifted in ways I couldnāt ignore. It felt like my system had less āstaticā to process. More signals to pay attention to. I still eat conventional food sometimes, but organic has become a baseline whenever I have the choice.
Iām not anti-GMO, because the truth is that humans have been altering crops for thousands of years through selective breeding. Every apple, carrot, and grain we eat today is the product of generations of intentional modification. What feels different to me is when we start moving genes across species, like taking something from a salmon and putting it into a tomato to make it frost-resistant. I understand the science and the intention, but it still lands strangely in my gut. I try to stay curious rather than fearful, while also listening to that instinct when something doesnāt feel quite natural.
I believe that how animals are raised matters deeply, not just ethically, but in how our bodies respond to their meat, milk, or eggs. Animals given space to roam, eat a natural diet, and live without chronic stress tend to produce food thatās richer in nutrients and healthier for us. When I choose āhappy animalsā, animals raised humanely, pasture-based or freeārange, Iām voting with my body for better health, and with my money for better treatment. Itās not just about avoiding cruelty; itās about aligning what I eat with a cycle of respect for animals, the soil, and ultimately for my own well-being.
If you want to dig deeper, here are a few articles/studies that back this view:
I try to buy local whenever I can because when I put my money into food grown nearby, Iām not just feeding myself, Iām investing in my community. That money tends to stay local, supporting small farms, boosting local businesses, and circulating through the neighborhood in ways that benefit more than just me. Studies show that when produce moves through shorter supply chains, like those of local farms or farmersā markets, more of what you pay actually stays with the farmers and others in your region. Choosing local food often means fresher, more nutritious produce too, which makes āmoney well spentā not just a financial decision but a health one.
I learned pretty quickly that every food choice I make is a small vote for the kind of world I want to live in. When I buy from farmers who care about soil health, animal welfare, or sustainable practices, Iām helping those values grow. It feels good to know that my money is supporting people and systems that align with my own health and ethics. Even small choices add up over time, and the impact becomes visible in what businesses survive and what kinds of food become more available. Itās a simple way to participate in shaping a healthier food system, one purchase at a time.
One of the most grounding things I ever did was actually meet the people who grow my food. When you talk to a farmer, you learn about their practices, their struggles, and the care they put into every crop or animal. It builds trust in a way that a label on a package never can. Knowing your farmer also helps you understand where your money goes and what kind of system youāre supporting. It turns food from something anonymous into something deeply connected to real people and real land.
Farmers' markets became one of the first places where I really understood how alive a local food system can feel. You meet growers, bakers, and producers who are pouring their whole lives into what they make, and you get to bring that home with you. If your community doesnāt have a market, starting even a small one can create a ripple of connection and opportunity. These spaces give farmers a fairer return, give consumers fresher food, and give communities a place to gather around something meaningful. It is one of the most direct ways to strengthen local food culture and keep it thriving.
At the end of the day, everything Iāve shared comes back to one simple truth: food is one of the most powerful investments you can make in yourself. The more attention you give to where it comes from, how it is grown, and who is behind it, the more your body and mind respond in ways that compound over a lifetime. This journey has taught me that health is built one choice at a time, and those choices ripple into our communities, our ecosystems, and our future. My kitchen became my pharmacy, but it also became my anchor, reminding me that real nourishment starts long before the food hits my plate. I hope that something here inspires you to take your own next step toward food that supports your health, your environment, and your local community.