Continued from Part III.
Biodynamic? Organic? Heirloom? SEO in Agriculture!
Some run CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture), which is a hip way for you to get your produce in a box every week. But if the farmer suffers crop loss, tough luck for you! Looks like cabbage and potatoes all summer. It’s agricultural welfare. “I want to stay home and grow food. If you pay me, I’ll do it and share the food with you. If there is no food for one reason or another, I still expect you to pay me.” Yeah, sorry, no. Unless you want to cut my lawn in exchange. Some of the CSAs require you to work a few hours a month at the farm. If your job pays you $6 per hour, not so bad, but if you’re earning $30 an hour, that produce is getting pretty darn expensive. But you get that in-the-dirt farm experience that’s oh so hard to come by for city folk.
Why am I miffed? Because I’m unemployed. There’s no money coming in. I don’t want to eat conventionally grown produce. So I have to pay through the nose to buy something grown organically that was commonplace one hundred years ago but is now considered eco-friendly, responsible, conscientious farming. I’m supposed to bankrupt myself to support my farmer. And I can’t even get a decent choice of foods. It’s the same tired cos romaine, broccoli, corn, kale, carrots that I can get at the store. So many varieties of vegetables and fruits are available that could be grown and sold locally, but the farmers are all growing the safe, bland, easily travelled choices.
Expensive French fillet beans
If I bought beefaroni and TV dinners and mac and cheese and pickles I could save quite a bit of money on food. If I didn’t care about the local farmer and the land, I’d buy what I could as cheap as possible. But I choose to eat healthily and I do care, so I am held captive by all those people with a stretch of land who collude with one another in price fixing and guilt people into paying too much by suggesting they “support the local farmer.” And if I question their prices I get, “Have you ever worked on a farm? It’s really hard work. They work all day long.” (But not quite as hard as when they take on nonpaid apprentices.)
Organic tomatoes
Continue to Part V.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi,
I have read some many posts on your blog and it seems like you are truly breaking away from the herd that is enmeshed in this “culture of death” that has blossomed fully now in our modern civilization. I usually do not even bother trying to post on these blogs because people do not have open minds at all but I do feel that you are a thinker. I know that you are on the path of a health seeker so I would just make one suggestion for you. Get the book “Green for Life” by Victoria Boutenko and I believe you will get the info you need to achieve the health that you are looking for. I used to have diabetes and high blood pressure along with severe depression and all these incurable diseases are now no more. This has been verified by my doctor. I did raw food for 7 months and achieved just a remarkable healing but the book was such a blessing as it really brings it all together as to the why and the how for everybody. Then I want to mention goneraw.com which is a free recipe and forum site that helps so many people get the info and practical recipes and feedback to truly succeed. We really can’t rely on the doctors and science that is bought by the pharmaceutical companies to heal us. We must rely on each other and do what is true and what really works without all the hype and the predatory venders of super fixes.
I read a few comment of the person who was dumping a whole lot of condemnation on you about having to walk away from your debt. That was too bad but sometimes you just have to flee from impossible no-win traps. Our society breeds it then they have fun killing the victims of it. I also have enjoyed your post on farmers markets. I go every Saturday but I have one vender I mostly buy from and am amazed by people going there and paying high prices for even conventionally grown produce. I guess going there makes them believe they are trendy or smart but I choose not to support irresponsible growers even if they are local. I have gotten some flack for speaking this out also but as I see it a herd is a herd and just because someone is in the know it does not mean that I or them cannot be taken in by hype or advertising expertise.
I’m real glad you posted. And thanks for the recommendation. I have read Green for Life as well as two other books by Boutenko.
I don’t lack knowledge so much as commitment. I know what I need to do, and I’m gearing up to go raw pretty soon. I blogged about a little nutritional experiment a few weeks ago, and I felt pretty good when I was doing it. I’m back on dairy now and some refined grain products, and some aches that have subsided a bit are coming back. It’s so easy for me to say, “I screwed up and ate some dairy, so I might as well have some ice cream.”
I’m an addict through and through, and as an addict I’ve found that going cold turkey is the only thing that has worked for me. So keep tuned. I’m getting there.