CSAs and the Importance of Local/Seasonal Food

Prior to World War II our food system was structured around a more localized and communal distribution. It was not uncommon for families to have a garden or small farm in which to feed themselves.  In fact, before the interstate highway system was developed, it would have been nearly impossible for the transportation of food to travel not much farther than say, 50 to 100 miles.  These days it is not too extreme to say that our food can come from 1500 to 5000 miles away.  California to China, everything from seafood to produce is moved around the globe using a finite supply of fuel and energy to come to your plate.

There are a variety of issues being discussed about why it is very important to focus on a more sustainable way of getting food on our tables, more nutritious food I may add.  One solution to the question 'Where and how is my food produced?' can be found in community supported agriculture or CSA for short.  I wanted to discuss this topic for many reasons. For one, the growing season is upon us and what better time than now to educate people on CSAs so they can get signed up and start receiving fresh vegetables and fruits. I also wanted to focus more attention on the importance of knowing your local farmers since I will be discussing this frequently.

The idea for community supported agriculture came about in the 1990's as a way for urban dwellers to reconnect with the land and have access to fresh fruits and vegetables. This, in turn has paved the way for urban community gardens to become increasingly popular.  Basically CSAs are set up in such a way that the consumer pays the farmer directly for the upcoming harvest season and receives a box of seasonal vegetables and fruit each week throughout the growing season(s).  For example, my family has been involved with our local CSA for a few years now. We pay the farmer roughly $300 at the beginning of the year and when the first week of April arrives we start picking up our box each week throughout July. That is 16 weeks of food, enough to typically feed a family of four. The first year we split the box with another couple because we felt it was so much food, we didn't want any to go to waste. The next year was the year I was going towards the raw and living foods direction so we decided to get the box on our own.

If you do the math, this price equals out to about $18.75 each week.  During the winter months I can spend $20 a day at the store trying to get organic produce, and that produce is being shipped from all over.  Not only does it dramatically reduce our grocery bill, but if I care to eat seasonally (whatever foods are growing/harvested each season) the only thing I'm buying at the store are grains and staple items. In a perfect life I would have all my herbs and spices growing in my yard, but sometimes it doesn't work out that way.  So, I am fortunate to have a regular Farmer's Market in town that I can get those particular items and as luck would have it, my CSA farmer is there as well! Usually I do consume certain produce such as tomatoes more than other items each week so I can always buy more on the weekends to last me until the next pick up.

The wonderful thing about CSA is that it the most transparent form of farming opposed to the big corporate farms that would rather you not see what goes on with their agricultural techniques.  With my local farmers, I can visit the farm, get to know the farmer's ethics, and how they grow the food whether organically or with the use of pesticides, fungicides, herbacides, etc.... By the way, just because a farm isn't certified organic by the USDA doesn't mean they aren't organic. Get to know your farmers, it costs a lot of money to take part in that business and sometimes the farmer just can't afford to pay for the label.  That doesn't mean he/she is using the conventional growing methods.  Also, the feeling of handing the money to the man or woman who grows your food opposed to handing over your money to a chain grocery store or farm that is 2000 miles away, is liberating.

I'm writing all this so you can do some research and look into your local farms to see whether or not anyone is involved with CSAs in your neck of the woods. You can look at http://www.localharvest.org/ and find a directory with not only regional CSAs but also Farmer's Markets in your area.  Some farms put a cap on the number of boxes they distribute depending on the size of the farm, and other aspects such as taking into consideration any crop failure or disease. These are just some things to keep in mind when going this route for your food sources.  It is with these factors that we keep in communication with the farm by website to see what will be in our box each week. Honestly I like to be surprised and there are times that I have no idea what a particular item is and it is always a learning experience.

 Some farms allow you to order specifics depending on what part of the country you live in and whether or not some crops can grow all year long.  My family has had the blessing to join and be a part of Black River Organic Farm here in the southeastern part of North Carolina for a number of years and you can find their link as well as Local Harvest on the side of my blog. There are a number of other farms in this area for those of you interested, but the season is upon us so the faster you sign up, the better your chances for getting in before they cap the number of recipients.

RECIPE: During our growing/harvesting season I get an assortment of produce but usually in May/June I will get potatoes and leeks together in some boxes and this recipe just seemed to fit well since it is still cold outside and it's a good hearty soup. Enjoy!

Potato and Leek Soup
You will need:
5-7 Potatoes, washed and diced
3-4 Leeks, washed and chopped (whites and greens)
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil (first cold-pressed)
1 cup veggie broth
1 1/2 cup Original Hemp Milk

Preparation:
Bring water to a boil in a nice sized pot and cook potatoes until tender. In separate pan, saute garlic in oil and add leeks until tender.  Drain potatoes and set aside a cup of potatoes and some of the leeks for a chunkier soup. Add all ingredients except the remaining potatoes and leeks to the blender and puree until creamy. Transfer back to pot and add extra potatoes and leeks with some sea salt to taste. Serve warm.

Organics and GMOs

With the recent, not so surprising decision to deregulate Monsanto's genetically engineered alfalfa crop by the USDA, I thought it best to bring some light on the subject and maybe even offer an opinion or two. This actually fits right in place with people waking up and realizing that cows eat grasses not corn, hence the new market for 'grassfed' beef.  What a coincidence that the cattle will be fed this genetically altered grass now. They are gonna get those GMO's in you one way or another! For those of you who are unaware of this idea of genetic manipulation within our food supply, I will attempt to explain. As if you didn't have enough on your plate to think about while shopping for ingredients, in order to prepare your family's meal. (No pun intended).

Genetically Modified Organisms 101
Unfortunately this issue is such a whirlwind of politics and first amendment rights, that it has become illegal to ‘criticize’ a company for their quality and practices of the industrialization of our food supply. Veggie Libel Laws or Food Libel Laws are in effect throughout 13 different states that make it okay for a company to sue any individual or group for libel. These states include Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, & Texas. These particular corporate entities feel that by even someone like me talking to you about these practices and issues, this may or may not dissuade you from purchasing their product resulting in decrease of their profit. Since I personally feel that we are human beings and not just consumers, these issues need to be talked about. You deserve to have a choice whether or not you would like to be part of the biggest human experiment in history.

Genetically engineered foods are nothing new and you don’t have to be a geneticist to understand how this works. Basically, genes from one animal or plant have been spliced and transferred to another organism’s DNA strand to produce a whole new species, for example scientists can take Arctic fish genes and inject them into strawberries to prevent frost from killing those strawberry crops. Now we can have strawberries all year long right? What is so wrong with that? Well I’ll give you a couple reasons why this is not going to fly with me and many others that care about what is going into our bodies as well as our children’s bodies.

Aside from this being just another way for man to control nature, take the example above with strawberries; being a vegan in that I have chosen to not eat any animal flesh or ingest animal by-products, I now will not be eating those strawberries. Keeping with this example, it brings up another point; how do I know that this new organism is healthy and not going to make me sick or kill me? You will not know because there has not been enough research in the laboratories, or any research for that matter, on human subjects. We are it. Any and all research that has been done with laboratory animals has shown nothing but negative, sometimes deadly effects. With this research, governmental agencies have ‘overlooked’ any detrimental factors and along with the Big Agribusiness have pushed their corporate agenda on the supermarket shelves anyway, without you even knowing.

The FDA does not require labeling beyond the typical nutritional facts that you will see printed on the side of all your processed foods. The cloning of animals for meat and dairy productions has been out on the market for some time now. Once again the FDA has decided that these products are safe for human consumption even though no animal that has been cloned stays alive long enough to promote sufficient research. Now honestly tell me, if your meat in the market was labeled ‘cloned’ would you choose to buy from that company or would you search elsewhere?

There are some brands out there that will display the ‘organic’ or ‘non-gmo’ labels to provide you with some information; to make the decision to purchase and consume, that is yours. However, I am very skeptical of so many brands and labeling; which I encourage skepticism (of everything) even what I’m writing at this moment. I’m so skeptical that I take the time to find out who owns who in the corporate world. I have found that some of the brands that you probably think are small independently owned businesses are actually sub companies from larger corporations with bigger plans to fatten their bank accounts. So yes there is a market for organic and non-genetically altered foods. And yes those CEO’s are becoming richer for being a part of that market.

What are my options, knowing that food has become such a commodity instead of being the sustenance of life with what nature has given me? First of all, Educate Yourself.  If anything that I have just written makes you more curious, please do further research on your own. Second, start growing your own food. This is not anything new. This is getting back to nature and relating to the symbiosis of the food chain. I am amazed that some kids don’t even know where food comes from. It does not come from the grocery store. Teach your kids how to plant anything. If you don’t have a yard, don’t worry; all you need is a window or a porch. A small herb garden is a start; anything. Third, meet your local farmers and have conversations with them. Find out their practices with growing. Ask them what pesticides they use, are they natural or chemical sprays? They are more than happy to talk with you. They need support no matter what because they are a dying breed. If they use chemical fertilizers, find out why they feel that is sufficient. Ask if you can visit the farm; take your kids on a field trip one Saturday afternoon. These are just a couple of ways to start your food revolution. Remember don’t try to be able to do everything at once. It is all about your comfort level with action. Every little step matters and with that comes other steps. I up the ante every day; I’m always learning new things and am happy to share them with others that care. You should vote with your wallet and your fork every day!
This intro was taken out of my book Veganize: Changing Your Food to Becoming a More Conscious Eater.

In my opinion we are under attack from these chemical and fertilizer companies that are controlling our food supplies.  I find it necessary to talk about this with everyone who will listen.   Government agencies disguised as protectors of our health and well-being seem to me to be unacceptable.  A lot of people are at least waking up to the fact that a select few in political power are the same folks working in these companies that are making us sick. Once you see that, you understand where the money trail leads. Click here to see what the revolving door looks like.  By the way, European citizens have been battling with companies that are playing with our food for awhile and they stood up and said Hell No! Therefore they get labels on their food.

With all these shenanigans taking place, I have always been skeptical of the USDA Organic Label. So once this deregulation ruling passed, (which you can find here),  I went through some troubling issues which involved thoughts of whether or not I should continue to support that organic label. This new battle brings up many, many questions that the USDA should rightfully be responsible to answer.  I said to myself, 'Doesn't Organic by definition require that no ingredients in said package are of genetic manipulation?' And if that is so, 'How does this issue of deregulating GM Alfalfa fit into the labeling of any organic products that contain it?'  So I did some research and here is what I found.....

After reading the entire list of guidelines for organic certification by the USDA, I was reminded of the importance to eat organic versus conventionally grown food when reading the variety of chemicals not allowed in the organic process.  According to the National Organic Program regulations, genetically modified organisms are excluded and not considered compatible with organic production. You can find this statement along with other methods listed that do not qualify under the certification program here. 

My first question has been answered, GMOs are not compatible with the term certified organic. However it seems to me that there are ways for agribusiness to backdoor GMOs into 'organic' products by certain allowable percentages listed in the USDA guidelines. Click here if you wish to read more. My dilemma now meant that I was torn between buying anything with that USDA Certified Organic Label out of mere boycotting.  But that hurts the farmers that spend so much money and strife to get their products on the market, it hurts me because I want/choose to eat organic over conventionally grown food. It seems that the only organic foods in the market is USDA certified. So what do I do? Well, ultimately I can grow my own food but in the meantime I still have to eat. Fortunately there are products that are labeled with NO GMOs, which I will obviously choose over the alternative. If not labeled such, I will look up the company and check out their values on the topic. I will get to know my local farmers who grow my food through CSAs and Farmers' Markets and find out their stance on the issues. To make conscious decisions about what we are eating, we have to look in these directions now.

As stated in an earlier post, I would like to contribute at least one recipe for each topic i post. This is very simple and nutritious recipe, granted you are getting organic ingredients.
Kale and Avocado Salad
You will need:

1 Bunch of Kale
1 Avocado
6 Grape Tomatoes
3-4 Sundried Tomatoes (soaked for about an hour and drained)
1 Tbsp Olive Oil (First Cold Pressed)
1 tsp Lemon Juice
1/2 Tbsp Himalayan Rock Salt
1 Jalapeno (finely chopped) or 1/2 Tbsp of Cayenne (optional)

Preparation:
Wash and cut kale into bite-sized pieces. Kale is very fibrous so i like to take sissors and cut fine pieces. Massage oil and salt into the leaves; then do the same with the avocado. Add remaining ingredients and toss; Let sit for at least 30 minutes for flavors to blend.