Last year was a big year for me, food-wise. I've always been a foodie (whatever that means--for myself, it simply means I have a borderline obsessive interest in all things food-related), but last year I had 3 things happen that changed my view of food completely and permanently.
First, I discovered the book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. In a very gentle yet thorough way, she educated me in why it is essential to know where your food comes from. That local is even better than organic, and "certified organic" in a mega-grocery store is not all it's cracked up to be. That the agricultural industry is a mess, and we're paying for it in the food we eat, and most importantly why it is absolutely essential to support your local farmer.
Next, my husband got me to watch this documentary on PBS titled King Corn. It reinforced what I'd been reading, and made me swear off high fructose corn syrup (which, by the way, is in EVERYTHING). So, left with little real food left to eat in the grocery stores, what's a foodie to do?
Research, research, research--and that's how I found the third thing that changed my food-life forever: my beloved bastion of locavore goodness, my CSA: Farmers Fresh. CSAs, or Community Sustained Agriculture programs, are programs you can subscribe to and receive bags of local, in-season food on a regular basis. In my case, I get in-season fruits, veggies, meats, eggs, and even handmade goodies like muffins or soap or honey sometimes. It has been a revelation for me and my family to be a part of this program. I had always been more in favor of natural vs. processed foods, organic over non-organic, but after joining the CSA I realized that I had forgotten what a blueberry is supposed to taste like, an apple, a salad made of fresh greens.
See, when food has to come from California, for example, to a grocery store in Georgia, it naturally has to travel quite a distance to do so. Therefore, the California grower has to choose varieties of plants that are bred to 1) yield well, 2) look nice on the display shelf, and 3) travel well enough to make it a long distance without spoiling. Notice one key essential missing in these criteria: TASTE. Even more important, the behemoth of the large-farm, supermarket-mentality agriculture industry is squeezing out heirloom varieties of plants--plants that may taste heavenly, but don't travel well, or don't promise to spit out perfectly-formed versions of themselves like little clones every growing season. Or plants that don't yield to the genetic modifications of massive seed companies.
CSAs can offer these heirloom plants and animal products, because they don't have to travel far. They are farmers who may not be able to afford the cost and time necessary to go through the byzantine process of being organically certified, but care more about organic and sustainable growth and humane methods of food production than many huge certified-organic megafarms that supply food for major chains.
Local food tastes INFINITELY better than its alternatives. It is better for the environment, better for your health, better all the way around. And there are added bonuses: this past summer, when the tainted tomato scare happened, and people all across the nation were taking tomoatoes and tomato-based products off their plates and shelves and menus? That was because no one could trace the source of the salmonella-tainted tomatoes--were they from Mexico? California? What farm?
I smiled smugly (yes, I know, smugness is unattractive but...) and went to pick up my mouth-wateringly good local tomatoes from my CSA delivery. I knew my tomatoes were from right here, and there was no chance they were part of the recalled tomatoes. It's nice, in this age of mass production, to know where your food comes from and that it comes from people who care about what food you put in your mouth.
So, this blog is going to become dedicated to the food I get from the CSA, where it comes from, what I'm doing with it, and maybe even a little about the growers. It's going to be about eating mindfully, locally, and well (after all, I'm a foodie, not a martyr).
Come rediscover food with me. Join a CSA and do your own delicious research. Support your local farmer's market. Take your fork out of the hands of corporations. We're in for one delicious ride.
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