Finishing up my thoughts on what we are, and why…
We are local.
That is to say, when folks get their food from our farm, they’re getting food from a farm and a family in the local community.
There was a time when most of the products folks bought were produced locally by other people in the community–people known to them. When your products are going to be bought and used by your neighbors, there is much more concern about quality and craftsmanship than if they going to be shipped to strangers living in another culture thousands of miles away. And when folks give their business to local companies and local families they keep their money in the community, where it will circulate for the benefit of the community, rather than end up in the coffers of some multinational corporation or oppressive foreign government.
Buying locally also is better for the environment, as it reduces the distance goods travel thereby reducing the amount of fossil fuels used to deliver them.
What is true generally about local goods is especially true about local food. Obtaining food from local sources encourages, supports and enables local family-based agriculture, which is in danger of dying out. Eating locally means eating seasonally, a natural and healthy practice. Eating locally also connects the eater to the local food culture, connecting a person more to the place where they are. And, of course, local food, unlike industrial food, can be allowed to fully ripen before picking. Local farms can grow the best-tasting varieties, without having to worry about their shelf life or how they’ll look on a grocery store display stand. Local food simply tastes better than industrial food.
As I have often said before on this blog, we are blessed to live in an area with some of the best farmland in the world. Yet most folks around here, including farmers and rural folks, get their food from large grocery store chains which import it in from thousands of miles away. In a typical American meal the food on the plate has travelled an average of 1500 miles to get there. That is just crazy when superior food is available from one’s own community.
We believe the current global economy will someday largely be replaced with local economies.
We encourage and participate in local economies.
May it ever be so.
Love Wins
I agree completely, with the caveat that in urban areas, things get complicated fast. There’s simply no way to produce enough food locally for Houston, for example. On the other hand, there are ways to encourage better land use, food co-ops, and so on.
Just this morning I made my weekly trip to a family farm about 25 miles away. It’s been in business for decades, and has a stellar reputation. They do ship in some fruits and veggies, especially now, when the heat has ended production of nearly everything but okra, beans and squash, but in season they have marvelous strawberries and blackberries, tomatoes – just everything good. And the fall gardens produce good cauliflower, broccoli, cabbages, etc.
Best of all, Houston restaurants are now coming down to the farm and buying produce from them. They’re expanding, employing more people, planting more crops and generally being successful. And every time someone gets a first taste of their vine-ripened tomatoes or freshly picked corn, the smiles and astonishment are wonderful to behold!
Amen!