Research For Whose Benefit?

[The Helpful Gardener]

Again F-san points out that business does not value farming. In our country, we teach agribusiness to farmers, sure that they will need these tools to compete against the big corporations. We ignore the fact that they cannot ever compete against big corporations; that is why we continue to lose family farms at alarming rates.

Until we value family farms and local agriculture above cheap food, we will continue to degrade our environment, our local economies, and our own health...

HG

[rainbowgardener]

Since joining my CSA, it has helped me become much more a local-vore. All through the growing season, I eat only the veggies that are in season. When green beans and corn are ripe we eat lots of green beans and corn. And zucchini several days a week in different forms. And I haven't eaten broccoli since the broccoli in my garden was finished.

I have found that I really like this way of eating. It feels much more connected to the earth, to the rhythms and cycles of the seasons, more natural. And we eat so well all summer!

Fukuoka wonders if humans need to eat eggplants and cucumbers all winter. Part of this is more people need to have the experience of eating more naturally.

However, I will say that I eat local veggies through the growing season. In the winter not so much. I have some things canned and frozen, but not even close to enough to live on all winter. And locally grown food here in winter would be mainly root crops in a root cellar.

I read Barbara Kingsolver Animal Vegetable Miracle about eating locally all year. But she eats a lot of locally grown chicken and eggs. As a vegetarian it gets a lot more difficult. For me to be a winter local-vore, I would have to make putting food by a full time job in the season and buy a bigger freezer. And then I still wouldn't be eating anything fresh.

Need to move back to California! But other than that, I haven't figured this part out yet.