What's a CSA, you ask? The basic definition is this: a community of supporters who purchase "shares" in a local farm that then grows food specifically for those "shareholders". When you join a CSA you're doing three VERY important things:
1) Allowing the local farmer to continue growing food for members of the community.
2) Cutting out the middleman grocery chain by getting your food directly from the source.
3) Benefiting from natural, healthy, usually organic, produce and other items that don't contain harmful preservatives and other chemicals.
Need more reasons to consider joining a CSA? Here's the more detailed rundown:
BENEFITS FOR THE FARMER
- Allows the farmer to purchase seeds and other necessary growing items early in the growing season so they are able to offer a wide variety and high quality of items.
- They receive their farming funds early enough before the plowing and other manual labor begins so they can have more opportunity to market their farm and create new business.
- They are able to meet the people who will eventually eat their food! This is great because if you personally know the individuals and families who benefit from your product, then you're more invested in making sure you're giving them the best possible product you're able.
- Get to eat amazingly fresh, nutritious, healthy, usually organic food from a local source!
- Are able to "get creative in the kitchen" by being inspired by fresh weekly produce packages. Eating seasonally is the best way to really explore all the benefits each item can have in your meals throughout the day.
- Have a personal investment in your community and, specifically, a farmer who grows food that we eat. This really allows you to have a more connected feeling not only for the food you eat, but the people who work and live around you.
- You receive an entire growing season (usually 27 weeks) FOR FAR LESS than what you can ever buy from a grocery chain. Who doesn't want more food for less money??
FUN FACT: The United States spends LESS money, per capita, on food than any other nation. That's right! We are the wealthiest country in the world (or at least in the top few) yet we pay less money for/on food than a family in a third world nation. We also spend the most money, per capita, on medical expenses than the rest of the countries in the world. Do the food we eat and our medical problems go hand in hand? You BET they do!
When a consumer purchases a pack of ground beef from a grocery store (not in-store-ground beef) they're not buying meat from a single cow. They're not even buying ground meat from a couple of cows. So, how many cows are ground together to make one, single package of ground beef? That number can be in the hundreds or thousands. YIKES!
The major conglomerate who has raised the cows and/or packaged the ground meat has so many cows on their feed lot(s) that they can't possibly keep track of every single one and make sure they're all in perfect health. How does this big feed lot keep their cows "healthy"? By pumping them full of antibiotics. I don't know about you, but I don't pump my own body full of unnecessary antibiotics just in case I get sick. Therefore, I don't want to put something in my body, like pumped up beef, if I can avoid doing so. Even with pumping the cows full of medicine, some still end up with E-Coli problems. If a single cow has E-Coli issues and it isn't discovered before the butchering process (antibiotics have to cease being used at least three months prior to butchering), that cow and it's bacteria has been spread through the entire batch of ground meat which is sent out to us, the consumer, who unsuspectingly purchase it to make a meal.
You can avoid consuming what I like to call "tainted meat" by purchasing your beef from a local farmer. The best beef, in my opinion, comes from small farmers who raise their cows only on grass and hay. This doesn't mean you should only buy meat from cows with this specific diet, but I would advise against consuming meat from cows raised on grain-rich diets. Cows are not meant to eat high grain diets which is easily evidenced by the massive amounts of information compiled by scientists who focus on cows who are fed 50-90% grain. The bigger the farm, the more likely they use grain as the main energy source for their cows because it provides nutrients faster than grass and hay and also makes them larger which allows the conglomerate a higher dollar for their product. However, these low-fiber diets negatively effect the cow and it's digestive system because it allows for fermentation acids to build up in the digestive compartment. Without enough fiber from a well-balanced diet, these acids aren't able to be absorbed which results in ulcers and subsequently abscesses. Ouch! Conglomerate farms try to balance this issue out by using antibiotics, but that just further alters the "microbial ecosystem". Another bonus for feeding cows hay and grass is that they've been shown to be less likely to shed harmful E-Coli in their feces than grain-rich fed cows. That's a bonus for everyone!
You don't have to stop at buying beef from local farmers, but consider adding local pork, chicken, and lamb to your shopping list as well. While you may not be able to go directly to the farmer for these products, your local grocery stores likely stock their meats in the appropriate section. This is where label reading is a MUST! "Distributed By" does NOT mean that's where the animal was raised. Check out the source info which may or may not be detailed on the package. If you really want to know where it comes from, ask someone working in the meat department as a butcher. And if they can't tell you where it comes from, hop on the internet and check out the information for yourself. Being proactive about your food is key! And if you REALLY want local chickens, consider raising them yourself. It's super easy and not as messy as you think. Plus, you get fresh eggs every day! (See resources bellow for links to sites about raising your own chickens.)
FUN FACT: Under the US Census, "farming" is no longer considered an occupation. It now falls under "other" as less than 1% of the people in the US are farmers.
If only 1% of the population are farmers, then how can they provide enough food for everyone to eat? They can't, which is why this country imports so much of it's food. Food imports have increased at least fourfold in the past decade. While we depend on the FDA to assure a safe product is put on our grocery store shelves, they're incredibly overburdened with the amount of product they now have to inspect. In 2006, nearly 200,000 shipments from China came to the US ports to be sold to us, the consumer. Of those 200,000 cargo holds, only 2% were actually sampled by the FDA. That's not good enough, in my opinion. That leaves 98% unchecked, unverified, potentially unsafe product that has been OK'd for us to eat, use, and make part of our daily lives. The only way to combat that oversight and ensure we only consume safe, healthy food and foodstuffs is to find a local farmer who is personally invested in their product and community.
FUN FACT: "Local" food means that it came from less than 100 miles away.
In conclusion, buying locally means you'll reap the benefits of being a responsible member of your community and the farmer(s) will be able to stick around for at least one more season. If we expect them to provide for us, we need to provide for them. I would like to close with a new favourite quote: "If you're not in control of the food you eat, are you sure that those in control are looking out for your best interests?" If you can't answer "yes" with 100% confidence, then find a new source. Check out http://www.localharvest.org/csa/ to find a CSA in your area.
Resources:
"Ingredients" the documentary: http://www.ingredientsfilm.com/
http://www.localharvest.org/csa/
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2001/05/010511074623.htm
http://www.aaas.org/
*Chicken Raising Info:
http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/how-to-raise-backyard-chickens-in-your-city-the-basics-of-raising-chickens
http://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Sustainable-Farming/2003-02-01/How-To-Raise-Chickens.aspx#axzz2K8jUPalg
http://citychickens.com/
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