“But with a suddenness that has taken us all by surprise, the era of cheap and abundant food appears to be drawing to a close.”
MICHAEL POLLAN
Small farms are returning to the landscape to meet the demand. U.S. farmers normally receive about 22 cents of every dollar spent on food. The remaining 78 cents is devoted to packaging, labor, transportation, depreciation and marketing.
One dollar spent locally generates more income for the local economy. Farmers make and keep more money and are rewarded for the extra work of bringing fresh food to market.
The American business ethic is enriched and supported along with your health.
“At home I serve the kind of food I know the story behind.”
MICHAEL POLLAN
When a single factory is grinding 20 million hamburger patties in a week or washing 25 million servings of salad, a single terrorist armed with a canister of toxins can, at a stroke, poison millions.
Such a system is equally susceptible to accidental contamination: the bigger and more global the trade in food, the more vulnerable the system is to catastrophe. The best way to protect our food system against such threats is obvious: decentralize it.
“Fruits and vegetables shipped from distant states and countries can spend as many as 14 days in transit before they arrive in the supermarket… Most fruits and vegetables are chosen for their ability to withstand industrial harvesting equipment and extended travel rather than taste.”
PIEDMONT ENVIRONMENT COUNCIL
And while the experts disagree about the exact amount, the way we feed ourselves contributes more greenhouse gases to the atmosphere than anything else we do as much as 37 percent, according to one study chemical fertilizers (made from natural gas), pesticides (made from petroleum), farm machinery, modern food processing and packaging and transportation have together transformed a system that in 1940 produced 2.3 calories of food energy for every calorie of fossil-fuel energy it used into one that now takes 10 calories of fossil-fuel energy to produce a single calorie of modern supermarket food.
Put another way, when we eat from the industrial-food system, we are eating oil and spewing greenhouse gases. We need to reconceive agriculture as part of the solution to environmental problems like climate change.
“The president should throw his support behind a new victory Garden movement, this one seeking “victory” over three critical challenges we face today: high food prices, poor diets and a sedentary population.”
MICHAEL POLLAN
Those who choose to eat local foods produced seasonally are much more likely to consume a greater amount of fresh fruits and vegetables, and tend to eat less processed foods that are often high in calories and saturated fats.
“Post-oil agriculture will need a lot more people engaged in food production as farmers and probably also as gardeners.”
MICHAEL POLLAN
Whether it’s the farmer who brings local apples to market or the baker who makes local bread, knowing part of the story about your food is such a powerful part of enjoying a meal.
“When the world wearies and society ceases to satisfy, there is always the garden.”
MINNIE AUMONIER
Many aspects of gardening seem miraculous when you are actually involved in them – you may know intellectually that seeds grow into plants, and waste decomposes into compost, but when you actually do it, it seems wondrous.
“An increasing number of consumers are also of the opinion that organic food tastes better because organic food is grown in well balanced soil.”
USDA ORGANIC
Consumers increasingly are searching for the flavors of fresh, vine-ripened foods grown on local farms instead of those trucked to supermarkets from faraway lands. Ordinary middle income folks have decided they really care about where their food comes from.
