I finished reading "In Defense of Food" as well as another book entitled "Holy Cows and Hog Heaven" by Joel Salatin which also focuses on the benefits of purchasing and consuming whole foods. Salatin is a farmer who has practiced small scale, organic farming for many years and adamantly endorses it and it's benefits on society. I think both Salatin and Pollan have converted me to the idea of buying local, organically produced produce - it's definitely not a hard thing to do here in Southern Oregon. I'm interested to find out from you your thoughts on this - do any of you frequent local farmers markets? If so, why (what are your personal reasons for doing so) and for how long have you been doing it? Do you mind forking out the extra $?Let me know what you think.
4 comments:
I like to buy local for two main reasons. 1. It is fresh 2. Support local livelihood. My parents own Valley View Nursery here in the valley and I have seen the effects of "big business" on them so I guess I identify small local growers.
I've only been to local farmer / grower markets on a limited scale here in Southern Oregon. But mostly that's because I have a father who plants a 1/2 acre garden every summer that we help out with. Mostly we get locally and (essentially) organically grown corn, potatoes, onions, peppers, squash, cucumbers, tomatoes and a bunch more from there so it's nice. One thing I always realize is that except for the corn, you don't really need that much room to grow most of the stuff. Green onions, a squash plant, a pepper plant, a tomato plant, all of those produce food for a good part of the summer as long as their taken care of and for one family, one plant is all you'd need. If it wasn't so easy to go up and do it at my dad's I'd be thinking of how to get my own little garden producing all summer long. In fact I tried the year before last, and failed miserably, but there were other factors involved there too. So I say farmer / grower markets are good, but try to grow your own fruits and vegetables, and harvest your own blackberries from anywhere you look in Southern Oregon later in the summer, and try to do as much as you can on your own like that. You're spending less time / money driving places looking for the specialty items because that often feels wasteful to me............to drive to Central Point to pick up locally grown strawberries when I could / should grow them myself and be less dependent on people even that far away from me. Then when you have a farm of your own, definitely follow Pollan and Salatin's advice, most of it that I've seen makes sense........Dan
Sorry it has taken me a while to respond, but I wanted to weight in on both of your posts. Recently I was diagnosed with a serious heart condition and my diet dramatically changed. When I went to the grocery store I immediately went to the organic foods aisle and thought that would be the best place to start. I was wrong. I now basically depend on food that has been chemically altered to fit my condition. I can buy (and enjoy buying) fruits and vegetables from local farms however dairy and other foods are best bought from brand named companies. It's a paradox. In order for me to stay healthy I have to eat something that's been chemically enhanced. On top of that, I can now be clumped under the status of "orthorexic." Not by choice necessarily. I am that person in the store that reads every label and occasionally has ruined someone else's meal by letting them know how many calories they're eating, how much sodium it has, and what it will ultimately do to them. But I do believe that society as a whole is not there yet. As long as we know there are still quick weight loss programs and easy surgeries to correct obesity and other unhealthy habits, society will continue to take health risks and ignore preventative measures.
Kirstin - It sounds to me like your "obsession" with health/food is a healthy one. I definitely feel that science in food production has it's place - like in your case. Thanks for bringing that up. However, I feel that when "nutritionism" accounts for how the overwhelming majority of our food is produced and viewed, it becomes a problem. Science is the closest thing we have to fact, but it's not fact. Take, for example the "fact" that the consumption of saturated fats leads to heart problems. Science has perpetuated this myth as fact for years now, but only recently has science "proven" that this is no longer so. Don't get me wrong, science is good, and I feel it's findings should definitely be considered in a diet - I just don't think that it's the ultimate authority on what we should eat.
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