Look for local produce. It matters

[havocmom]

For starters, consider:

A study from the Virginia Farm Bureau found that if its residents spent $10 a week on products from the state, it would pump $1.65 billion into the economy. While that's an ambitious goal, the bureau there has said getting half of the people to spend $5 a week on in-state products would boost the state's economy by $400 million, which is substantial even in a bigger state like Virginia.

More at http://www.mtstandard.com/articles/2009/07/19/area/hjjajcibhgieij.txt and think about how short a growing season Montana has and people can still get this done. Think what could be possible in other climates if we took to gardening instead of so many other pass times that aren't so healthy, if we supported local, small scale growers as much as we could.

Consider that corporate ag is concerned with profits over environment or your family's best interests. Consider a garden. Consider supporting local farmers markets. Consider that fresher is delicious and do what you can to get more fresh into your diet.

Till, plant, grow, harvest. It's very soothing to the soul, good for the body and a wonderful way to teach science and philosophy to youngsters.

Have a bountiful day, DU

[peacebird]

1. if locals "$10 a week on products from the state, it would pump $1.65 billion " into Va economy?

It would also benefit small family farms and help to keep land in farming. It's a win/win situation.
enthusiastic k&r!

[havocmom]

10. Yep and small family farms are facing horrible pressure

Win win to support them, indeed.

I used to bicycle to a roadside stand a few miles from where I lived in California. Bought strawberries there during season. The parents and older kids worked the fields. Grandma and the young kids worked the stand. Great berries, and I watched them grow so I knew the goodness of the food.

Growing up with some oriental kids, I knew a few Japanese words. I addressed the grandma as she deserved to be addressed, and in her mother tongue, tho poorly for sure. The old lady appreciated my blundering attempts and respect for her culture. We got the VERY best berries. And she was a delight to visit with.

So much better to take a little time and get to know those who grow your food. That food does more than sustain your body, it nourishes your soul and your humanity.

[DesertRat]

2. We get a lot of satisfaction from our home garden

I'm making a ratatouille today with fresh tomatoes, basil, zucchini and eggplant from our garden. :)

You don't need a lot of room to garden. A lot of plants do very well in large pots.

[havocmom]

11. Amazing what you can do with some innovation, isn't it?

Saw a tiny yard in Tucson that probably provided enough fresh produce for a dozen families. The lady of the house was from a war torn place in Southeast Asia and was grateful for a bit of space, water, and the peace to be a farmer again.

She went vertically and it was AMAZING. She also had a whole different climate from her garden. Lush, moist, gently, soothing, and COOLER than just a few feet away from the green canopy she had created.

You are right, it doesn't take much room and it provides so much satisfaction. A garden can give perspective and joy.

[flvegan]

3. Off to the Greatest!

[havocmom]

16. Thanks for that flvgan. Thanks for helping kick it

We can make Eden. Yes we can.

[GoneOffShore]

4. Firm supporter of local produce here!!

Even though we're not doing extremely well financially at the moment we're still "Buying Fresh, Buying Local".

It's worth it in so many ways. Supports local farmers and businesses, cuts down on transportation costs which helps the environment and it's hypothetically healthier. Last but not least, local, organic produce just tastes better.

I'm also growing stuff in my city back garden.

Including a fig tree. Can't wait for them to get bigger and ripen up.

[havocmom]

14. Heard a lovely story about the fig tree

Tale is, the fig was the one plant Eve took with her when expelled from the garden.

Now, I don't buy into Adam and Eve, but I have heard of many pioneer women who brought fig trees from 'back east' when they traveled to the wilderness of the west. And I have seen progeny of old fig trees often enough to believe the stories about the pioneers.

If the myth of Eve and her fig tree inspired many early settlers, that is fine by me.

Enjoy your tree and garden. :hi: Invite some youngsters in to help with it if you've a mind to. They could use the science lessons and chance to play in the dirt ;)

[leftstreet]

5. Why is my frozen broccoli coming from Ecuador?

Not that I'm opposed to Ecuadorians making a living, although I doubt the average farmer there is seeing any $.

But what I don't get: My bag of frozen broccoli was less than $2.00. How could it possibly be profitable to contain and ship, airlines, trains, whatever, to deliver that broccoli to me at 2 bucks?

How many corporations did I and the Ecuadorian broccoli farmer subsidize to make this happen?

They grow broccoli less than 100 miles from my house.
Where is it going?

[havocmom]

19. You pose some profoundly important questions

Why indeed.

People where I live produce sheep. I can't buy lamb to cook. :shrug:

[leftstreet]

28. Kinda weird, huh?

Strange indeed

[cali]

6. Pete's Green's, Hazendale Farm, Jasper Hill Cheeses, Vermont Soy

High Mowing Seeds, Bonnie View Cheese, Cabot; all these are within a few short miles of where I live, and I have my own garden as well. It's easy for me to spend 10 bucks a week on local produce and food products. I do it regularly.

[havocmom]

18. LOL gotta tell ya, Cabot cheese ROCKS major!

Best cheddar EVER, and I am a cheese freak. When I found it here in MT, I got some and teased Havocdad that it was made from milk from the great great great grand-cows his grandparents had on their little VT dairy farm.

Not many dairies in MT, sadly. But we are seeing some local cheeses these days. :woohoo:

[cali]

21. Cabot is just down the road

I love going to the factory store. But the very best cheddar I've ever tasted is Cabot Clothbound cheddar aged by the Kehler brothers in their cave on their farm, Jasper Hill. And Mateo and Andy produce their own fantastic cheeses- Bayley-Hazen Blue and Constant Bliss. Yum. If you love cheddar you must try the Cabot Clothbound. Pricey but worth it.

VERMONT CHEDDAR JUDGED BEST NORTH AMERICAN CHEESE
Vermont Cheddar Judged Best North American Cheese Green Mountain State Collaboration Named American Cheese Society’s Grand Champion
Greensboro, Vt. (July 25 2006) – Not since Lewis & Clark has a pioneering partnership yielded such accolades. Cabot Clothbound Cheddar, a cooperative venture of Vermont cheesemakers Cabot Creamery and Jasper Hill Farm, was named “Best of Show” at the 23rd Annual Conference and Competition of the American Cheese Society (ACS), held this year in Portland, Oregon.

Cabot Clothbound Cheddar was awarded first place for “Aged Cheddars, All Milks (Aged Between 12 & 24 Months).” Then, in a second judging exclusively of blue ribbon winners from the 22 categories, Cabot Clothbound bested a very competitive field to earn Grand Champion.

“The success for Cabot Clothbound highlights the significance of both the creation and maturing of artisanal cheeses. It’s only natural that Vermont would provide America’s first shining example of the benefits from this kind of collaboration,” said Rich Stammer, president of Cabot.

The contest this year featured a record 941 entries – nearly 200 more than any previous ACS competition – from 157 producers representing 28 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces. Twelve teams of two judges each selected the finest North American-made dairy products based on both technical and aesthetic traits. For details, please visit www.cheesesociety.org.

“Cabot Clothbound Cheddar is a marvel of milk, master cheesemaking and artful aging,” said Cabot cheese maestro Marcel Gravel. Made one vat at a time, from the milk of purely Holstein cows, the result is a singular, Old World style cheddar. A special, proprietary blend of cheese cultures gives an unpasteurized note to this pasteurized milk cheddar.

Traditional hooping and clothbound curds are just the beginning of this vanguard, Vermont collaboration. After creation, the wheels journey north along the Revolutionary War-era Bayley-Hazen Road into the care of Andy and Mateo Kehler, fellow Vermont cheesemakers and affineurs, and owners of The Cellars at Jasper Hill Farm. “Here, the cave-aged wheels benefit from spa-like pampering and controlled, mold-ripened maturing to develop their beautiful, natural rind,” said Mateo Kehler, co-owner of Jasper Hill Farm. “It’s all about spruce boards, hand turning and tender brushing.”

http://www.cabotcheese.coop/pages/pressroom/?RELEASE_ID=46

[havocmom]

26. Cool! Thanks for the press release on Cabots

My Green Mountain Boy will enjoy reading that!

Would love to visit Vermont, and traveling is not my favorite past time.

[druidity33]

30. come in the Fall

for the color and the Cider pressings! B&Bs are abundant and reasonable. I live in Western Mass, a 10 minute drive from the border of VT.

Breathtakingly beautiful colors...

:)

[havocmom]

34. Fall would definitely be the time for me

mmmmmm cider

[dysfunctional press]

7. i prefer tropical fruit.

it doesn't grow locally.

[havocmom]

17. I live in Montana. Some people grow peach trees in greenhouses here

Don't give up hope. Innovation and accommodation can move climates.

[dysfunctional press]

20. it's a lot easier to just not give up tropical fruit.

as long as it's available, i'll be buying it, and without concern for where it came from.

if i want food that can be grown locally, i can grow it myself in my garden.
when i go to the store, i want to buy things i can't provide for myself.

[EndersDame]

23. You would be jealous of my Grandma's Back Yard

She Grew papayas and mangos and her sisters always had fresh citrus! Say what you will about Texas but we can grow some good shit down here!

[druidity33]

31. ever tried Pawpaw?

how about native Persimmon?

Delish, Native, and tropical-tasting fruit...

:)

[frazzled]

8. Did my share for the week

At the local farmer's market yesterday (all produce from IL, WI, MI farms). Swiss chard, fingerling potatoes, yellow beets, sweet onions, green beans, tomatoes, etc.

Yum

[havocmom]

13. Swiss chard. YUM

don't get me started on that veggie. SOOOOO good, and freezes fine when blanched or made into chard patties with egg, cheese, breadcrumbs and seasoning!

And prety. I plant Bright Lites Swiss chard and the jewel toned stems, combined with the deep green leaves are a perfect 'green' for floral arrangements made with the jewel toned zinnias my husband grows.

[safeinOhio]

9. Who is against buying local?

Cooper Tire, Marathon Oil, Whirlpool and the local Chamber of Commerce.
http://www.thecourier.com/Issues/2009/Jul/15/ar_news_071509_story4.asp?d=071509_story4,2009,Jul,15&c=n



Findlay Mayor Pete Sehnert said Tuesday an event to promote products made and sold locally and regionally is getting little corporate support.

Sehnert blames GreaterFindlayInc., formerly the Chamber of Commerce, which promotes economic development.

Sehnert said GreaterFindlayInc. is withholding support from the “Greater Findlay, The Heart of Commerce and Community Celebration.” The event will be held July 25 downtown and at Flag City Multi-Sports Complex, 3430 N. Main St.

GreaterFindlayInc. President Ray De Winkle said the event will promote a protectionist trade agenda.

Findlay and Hancock County businesses “have a global supply chain that comes in and out of Findlay and we unabashedly support the rights of our companies to do global trading,” De Winkle said. “Our companies buy and sell globally and we do not want to put artificial constraints on that.

“We do not support the exclusion of others who provide competitive goods and services to businesses who contribute to our local economic development effort,” he also said.

[kestrel91316]

42. IOW, "fuck the local producers."

[csziggy]

12. If you need to find local farmers, look for "community supported agriculture"

Many organic farmers are enrolled in CSA plans and there are web sites that help you find your local participants. Often the CSA farmers will work with you on arranging places to pick up your weekly share of veggies so if you cannot regularly make it to a farmer's market, a CSA can be more covenient.

Also, I found for myself that I might not commit to driving to the farmer's market but once I enrolled in the CSA I got my bag of veggies a week and had to find ways to use more veggies than I had been eating. SO it has been an adventure, seeing what we will get each week, finding recipes and trying to use up everything before the next batch arrives!

Right now, my CSA farmer is in hiatus - it is too hot here for most crops and they will not start producing in quantities until about mid-September. That is OK since we have bags and bags of squash put up in the freezer that we will need to use before we start getting fall veggies.

The other advantage for us is that we are trading horse manure for veggies so are pretty much getting them for free. SO if you have services or something the local farmer can use, you can trade for your food!

[havocmom]

15. Great suggestion

Many thanks

The barter of manure for veggies is fantastic. We have all we need to create Eden if we just use our heads, hearts and cooperate more ;)

[csziggy]

24. I'm hoping that next year I can put in a small garden myself

But since I just had shoulder surgery, there was no way to do it this year. But I will probably stay in the CSA since she grows veggies I would not. But there are veggies she did not have this year I would like to have - green beans and more herbs, for instance. My other big problem will be keeping the deer out of the veggies - I might be able to put the few I want (and can take care of) close to the house, like on the terraces on the south and east sides. But the deer ate the pansies right out out of the beds along the front porch so I don't know if that would keep them away. Oh, well, there are always electric fences....

[druidity33]

32. here's the link...

It'll tell you where the nearest farms and CSAs are:

http://www.localharvest.org/


:)

[Bluenorthwest]

38. CSA programs are great! Good suggestion.

[EndersDame]

22. As Alton Brown Says :Produce tastes better the less time it takes to get to your mouth

from the time it was picked . Buy Locally Think Globally Taste Yummily ;)

[abumbyanyothername]

25. Pretty easy to do in SoCal

Palisades farmers market today (LA metro's best).

Carrots, radishes, celery, red cabbage, radicchio, apricots (4 lbs/$5) and strawberries. 10 lbs of Pineapple heirloom tomatoes, $15 (waiting for mine to ripen up, I got 80 plants out back).

[kestrel91316]

43. Santa Monica and West Holly wood markets are both great.

I go to the one in Encino (missed it yesterday, had to be elsewhere), which is smaller but still more than adequate.

Nobody has local tomatoes this year........I need to ask why next time I go.

[knitter4democracy]

27. My nightly PSA: Michigan has the best produce in the country.

We really do. I've always supported local farmers, and when I lived in Ohio and bought locally there, it just wasn't as good as anything from back home. With the lakes, we have an interesting microclimate that produces better tasting apples, asparagus, cherries, you name it.

Our season's very late this year, due to changes in the weather, but cherries are finally in, and most areas have blueberries now. Time to get picking and freezing!

[druidity33]

33. aw shucks...

and here i thought Western Massachusetts had the best produce in the States...


i been all around and it's the best i found.




:)

[havocmom]

35. Growing seasons running late, I hear ya. That way in MT too for two years now

And summer hasn't been too awful hot, so the plants are not heat stressed and catching up. I was wondering if our less hot summer might be partly due to that volcano that blew in Russia. Seem to recall a cooler summer in 1980 when Mt St. Helens blew. We are usually pretty hot hot where I am, with a week or two where it is hotter here than in Tucson.

Micro climates DO make a huge difference, don't they. There is some combination of things in Missouri that make the best tomatoes.

Cherries are very good this year, hope the MI cherries do well. The Flathead area of MT produces great cherries too, and they are just now being shipped. MT cherries are pretty darned good, but then any fruit that doesn't have to travel far is always better.

[Fire1]

39. One thing I've never understood about our state. We export

our cherries to Washington and import their cherries, here. Otoh, we keep our blueberries. Strange logic.

[NRaleighLiberal]

29. I've got 150 varieties of tomatoes and dozens of hot and sweet peppers

coming into harvest. We went to see Food Inc the other night, then raced home and ate a meal that was nearly all fresh produce. We donated a few thousand heirloom tomato plants to community gardens.....it feels good, it is a tiny thing to do, but so much is needed to put pressure on the food mafia....when a bunch of broccoli costs more than a double cheeseburger, something is wrong!

[havocmom]

36. You are a wonderful human being! Sharing food plants is a terrific thing to do.

Yeah, the food factory method does leave one scratching one's head.

Tomatoes! So wonderful.

[Bluenorthwest]

37. Local foods are good foods!

And this time of year is a banquet! Community Supported Agriculture! Grow what you can, can what you grow!

[kestrel91316]

40. Waiting for a faux Dem and shill for corporate agribusiness to chime

in with how BAD buying local is in 3......2......1........

We do have them here.

[havocmom]

46. Yes we do have them around here, but maybe they are on vacation

;)

[tabbycat31]

41. another advantage of local produce

it tastes better. It's much fresher than produce that has traveled. Yum!

[havocmom]

45. Isn't fresher also more nutritious?

Another BIG advantage! :thumbsup:

[Rebubula]

44. Bethesda, MD

There are some great farmer's markets here (and all around the region as well) that I buy all of my produce from each week.

Mmmmm...fresh Zucchini.