Food Or Thought: continued

Several blog posts ago we discussed some of the key issues facing us as eaters and as citizens in what has come to be known as the 'industrial food complex'--our current food system.

Now that spring has begun to work its reliable magic on US agricultural and wild land and thoughts of early spring berries replace those of wintertime squash, it's the perfect time to bring this conversation 'home.'

Why local matters

Problem: The most prolific ingredients in the processed foods that Americans consume--wheat, soy, rice, or corn---are highly caloric, long lasting, cheap food products often shipped thousands of miles (oil, oil, oil).







Next time you're standing in front of your pantry, examine a box of pasta, a bag of chips, or a jar of tomato sauce.

• How many ingredients does the product contain?
• Do you know what these ingredients are?
• Where does the product come from?
• How far has it traveled to get to you?
• How were these commodity crops raised?

By now many of us are familiar with the impact that industrialized and large scale commercial farming and monoculture can have on the environment and our health. In growing, the key element to producing quality food is soil richness. Building rich soils (as nature has done for millennia) is a slow process.

Soils don't seem to understand the pressures that the business cycle places on farming for profit, and many agricultural practices used to accelerate crop growth can contaminate ground water, erode the soil, leach nutrients into water bodies - disrupting the ecology and fisheries that we rely upon. A picture of the Dust Bowl (below) shows just how badly things can get when natural wind systems interact with environments that have been stripped of their protective layer of top soil.


Solution: Eat close to home

You, like many people, are probably looking for ways to answers some of the nagging questions above, without having to find a personal solution that means you quit your job to become a full time food systems researcher. One easy way to make this thoughtful transition without having to research every item on your shelves is to build a relationship with a local grower and have your produce freshly delivered through a CSA.

A summary from LocalHarvest.org:
"Over the last 20 years, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) has become a popular way for consumers to buy local, seasonal food directly from a farmer. Here are the basics: a farmer offers a certain number of "shares" to the public. Typically the share consists of a box of vegetables, but other farm products may be included. Interested consumers purchase a share (aka a "membership" or a "subscription") and in return receive a box (bag, basket) of seasonal produce each week throughout the farming season.

Advantages for consumers:

• Eat ultra-fresh food, with all the flavor and vitamin benefits
• Get exposed to new vegetables and new ways of cooking
• Usually get to visit the farm at least once a season
• Find that kids typically favor food from "their" farm – even veggies they've never been known to eat
• Develop a relationship with the farmer who grows their food and learn more about how food is grown
• Directly support their local agricultural economy
  

Advantages for farmers:

• Get to spend time marketing the food early in the year, before their 16 hour days in the field begin
• Receive payment early in the season, which helps with the farm's cash flow
• Have an opportunity to get to know the people who eat the food they grow

Recess wants to point out a few advantages of promoting local food for employers:

• Be an advocate for health behavior change---many CSAs will deliver weekly shares to a business with enough season 'share-holders'
• Chronic diseases are costly and correlated to poor diet and lack of physical activity---help your employees discover real food and reduce their risk
  
• Foster a culture of health with an employee-family day at your local farm or farmers market

If you live in Portland, Oregon for example, purchasing a season share at a local CSA farm, or regularly visiting a farmers market gives you access to the freshest most local food that you could possibly buy. By investing your money locally, supporting a small business while helping preserve important agricultural land, as the Oregon Environmental Council puts it, you will 'vote with your fork.'

So the question is: Do you want to cast your vote for food shipped from thousands of miles away, or is it worth the wait for those amazing, fresh April strawberries to suddenly appear in your weekly basket or local market---followed by tomatoes, squash, and beets still smelling of the soil from which they emerged just hours before? Shrink the food system, and watch our landscape explode with real food!