Cleaning House, Part III: Where Your Food Comes From

As I have started focusing more on what I put into my body, I have also started focusing on where my food comes from and how it is grown or raised. Think of this as the little ripple-effect; focusing on how food affects me as an individual motivated me to focus on how food affects my community.

There are now just two simple rules I try to live by when purchasing food, if I can afford to, which I try to make a priority over things like new shoes and movie tickets (as much as I love both of those). These priorities are simply: buy locally, and buy organic. My reasoning? Check out this excerpt:

1. Locally grown food tastes better. Food grown in your own community is usually picked within the past day or two. The average distance food travels from farm to plate is 1,500 miles, but not local food.

2. Local produce is better for you. Locally grown food, purchased soon after harvest, retains its nutrients better than food which has aged.

3. Local food preserves genetic diversity. Local farms grow a huge number of varieties to provide a long season of harvest, an array of eye-catching colors, and the best flavors. Many varieties are heirlooms, passed down from generation to generation, because they taste good. These old varieties contain genetic material from hundreds or even thousands of years of human selection; they may someday provide the genes needed to create varieties that will thrive in a changing climate.

4. Local food is GMO-free. Local farmers don't have access to genetically modified seed, and most of them wouldn't use it even if they could.

5. Local food supports local farm families. With fewer than 1 million Americans now listing farming as their primary occupation, farmers are a vanishing breed. Local farmers who sell direct to consumers cut out the middle man and get full retail price for their crops.

6. Local food builds a stronger community. Local food builds community. When you buy direct from the farmer, you are re-establishing a time-honored connection between the eater and the grower.

7. Local food preserves open space. When you buy locally grown food, you are doing something proactive about preserving the agricultural landscape.

8. Local food helps to keep your taxes in check. Farms contribute more in taxes than they require in services, whereas suburban development costs more than it generates in taxes, according to several studies.

9. Local food supports a clean environment and benefits wildlife. A well-managed family farm is a place where the resources of fertile soil and clean water are valued. Good stewards of the land grow cover crops to prevent erosion and replace nutrients used by their crops. Cover crops also capture carbon emissions and help combat global warming.

10. Local food is about the future. By supporting local farmers today, you help ensure that there will be farms in your community tomorrow so that future generations will have access to nourishing, flavorful, and abundant food.

Buying local is much easier than most people realize. Stores like Whole Foods offer local produce, and that's one way. I prefer subscribing to a CSA organization (Community Supported Agriculture). I pay a weekly rate (usually $15-40) to get a fresh box of the freshest produce in season each week. I get a variety of very well-priced, organic fruits and veggies, I learn fun new recipes, and I eat seasonally, which means that what I eat is what's best to eat at a given time of year. Many CSAs also offer items such as eggs, natural meats, jams and jellies, breads, and more.

This past week, I pre-ordered my first box of produce from the South Central Farmer's Cooperative, which is based in Bakersfield, California. I showed up at the West Hollywood farmer's market on Sunday morning and paid only $15 for a large box of fresh-from-the-farm vegetables, including squash, cucumbers, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, carrots, beets, kale, and more. That box helped me and my brother create a delicious salad that afternoon, and the produce will last me through the week. :) Helping yourself by helping your community is a wonderful thing.

If you would like to subscribe to a local CSA in your area, visit: http://www.localharvest.org/csa/ to do a zip code search. I know for a fact there are several in Sugarland, in Austin, and in Pittsburgh.

I also try to eat organic when possible. Yes, it can be more expensive, but it doesn't have to be. I am all for getting pesticides and hormones further away from my produce and from my meat.

In short, this is part one of how I am attempting to clean house through my diet: I am eating mostly raw, and I am eating mostly local. It takes me a bit more time, but I feel happier, healthier, and like I am making a little difference in my community, simply by the ways in which I eat. Warm fuzzies all around.