wow, thank you for another excellent and thought-provoking read, angelique. i hadn't considered how many animals meet their demise with the harvesting of field crops.
Thank you so much for writing this article! I am writing a speech for my communications class and i chose school lunches as my topic.
Your article helped me get some main points to do research on.
p.s. I watched the premire of "Food Revolution" and thought that had some really good points, as well.
Thanks!
Wow!! Very thought provoking, honest & insightful!!!
To address Anonymous's statement, Beef Cattle (grass-fed in particular) are designed to take the forages that grow in otherwise untillable acres (our rolling & steep hills)& convert it directly to lean protein.
Thank you for a great article!! One that might be hard to read (as an omnivore & cattleman, but very useful!!
Food grows right out of the ground. Why go to the extra step of feeding food to other species, then eating them? Just look up how much of our tax dollars go towards subsidizing meat production. Meat is a very complicated and expensive way to make food that we artificially make look cheap through government subsidies.
This is great info, love the guy (Danny) he seems like a great guy, full of life, knows his stuff and not so full of himself like so many of these TV guys. Keep up great work
Great episode! It's wonderful to hear how Chris makes maple syrup for the personal joy of it. As happy as I've been that the snow has melted, now I want to roll back the season so that I can try tapping maple trees!
Aside from Chris' "It's great for people who like to watch water boil" line, your own "It tastes kinda like licking a tree" is classic!
When I read about the work Lee is doing and the powerful statements his truly insightful blog posts make, how could I not donate EasyLunchbox Systems to winners of this fabulous School Lunch Challenge? I was honored to be able to help parents pack great meals for their kids. Knowing that people are inspired to change, even if it's one lunch box at a time, is the best! Thank you Lee and thank you everyone for your passion for your kids! - Kelly Lester, mom and CEO, EasyLunchboxes.com
When you compost, the trash that you do have is very light (mainly non-recyclable packaging) and does not stink.
If you don't have gardens, lawns love compost too if you can get it fine enough to not smother the grass (use wire mesh to achieve this). Compost provides both nutrients acts as a sponge, holding on to water for your lawn to use later.
As a CSA farmer myself, and with honest and close friends as customers, I can see where Bill is coming from in the first comment. As a customer I would be frustrated if I hadn't had my expectations set properly, and got faced with those circumstances. We've not had any environmental disasters to contend with on our farm (and never will - speak it!) but that is probably one of hardest situations to overcome as a CSA farmer, even though it's clearly spelled out as a possibility to our members ahead of time. There's a significant emotional tie between farmer and consumer with a CSA, and we don't want to give that news just as much as our customers don't want to receive it.
On the flip side, we see CSA farming as:
1) An adventure in new and different varieties of produce, including some surprises. Most of America has grown accustomed to one kind of potato, two kinds of onions, one kind of carrot, etc., and gently forcing yourself into a situation where you have dozens of new options is kind of exciting. At The Farm, we're fully aware that many of our customers wont enjoy one or more item throughout the season, but the added biodiversity is good for everyone. It opens doors.
2) A way to truly connect with a local farm, beyond a transaction. Participating in the events held at the farm, and speaking on a regular basis with the farmer and other members is critical to that relationship. There is an intangible feeling of supporting someone and something directly and personally, which is less present or not present at all in other types of transactions.
Of course as a customer, neither of those points may excite, but if you enter into a CSA without consciously wanting those things you may not have the full experience. As much as we think they should be, CSA's just aren't for everyone, and local co-ops, farmers markets, and other resources are equally important avenues for finding local produce for that segment of the population.
wow, thank you for another
wow, thank you for another excellent and thought-provoking read, angelique. i hadn't considered how many animals meet their demise with the harvesting of field crops.
Thank you so much for writing
Thank you so much for writing this article! I am writing a speech for my communications class and i chose school lunches as my topic.
Your article helped me get some main points to do research on.
p.s. I watched the premire of "Food Revolution" and thought that had some really good points, as well.
Thanks!
Wow!! Very thought
Wow!! Very thought provoking, honest & insightful!!!
To address Anonymous's statement, Beef Cattle (grass-fed in particular) are designed to take the forages that grow in otherwise untillable acres (our rolling & steep hills)& convert it directly to lean protein.
Thank you for a great article!! One that might be hard to read (as an omnivore & cattleman, but very useful!!
Food grows right out of the
Food grows right out of the ground. Why go to the extra step of feeding food to other species, then eating them? Just look up how much of our tax dollars go towards subsidizing meat production. Meat is a very complicated and expensive way to make food that we artificially make look cheap through government subsidies.
This is great info, love the
This is great info, love the guy (Danny) he seems like a great guy, full of life, knows his stuff and not so full of himself like so many of these TV guys. Keep up great work
Great episode! It's wonderful
Great episode! It's wonderful to hear how Chris makes maple syrup for the personal joy of it. As happy as I've been that the snow has melted, now I want to roll back the season so that I can try tapping maple trees!
Aside from Chris' "It's great for people who like to watch water boil" line, your own "It tastes kinda like licking a tree" is classic!
Thank you Kelly! We can't
Thank you Kelly! We can't wait to try it. My first grader already called dibs!
When I read about the work
When I read about the work Lee is doing and the powerful statements his truly insightful blog posts make, how could I not donate EasyLunchbox Systems to winners of this fabulous School Lunch Challenge? I was honored to be able to help parents pack great meals for their kids. Knowing that people are inspired to change, even if it's one lunch box at a time, is the best! Thank you Lee and thank you everyone for your passion for your kids! - Kelly Lester, mom and CEO, EasyLunchboxes.com
When you compost, the trash
When you compost, the trash that you do have is very light (mainly non-recyclable packaging) and does not stink.
If you don't have gardens, lawns love compost too if you can get it fine enough to not smother the grass (use wire mesh to achieve this). Compost provides both nutrients acts as a sponge, holding on to water for your lawn to use later.
As a CSA farmer myself, and
As a CSA farmer myself, and with honest and close friends as customers, I can see where Bill is coming from in the first comment. As a customer I would be frustrated if I hadn't had my expectations set properly, and got faced with those circumstances. We've not had any environmental disasters to contend with on our farm (and never will - speak it!) but that is probably one of hardest situations to overcome as a CSA farmer, even though it's clearly spelled out as a possibility to our members ahead of time. There's a significant emotional tie between farmer and consumer with a CSA, and we don't want to give that news just as much as our customers don't want to receive it.
On the flip side, we see CSA farming as:
1) An adventure in new and different varieties of produce, including some surprises. Most of America has grown accustomed to one kind of potato, two kinds of onions, one kind of carrot, etc., and gently forcing yourself into a situation where you have dozens of new options is kind of exciting. At The Farm, we're fully aware that many of our customers wont enjoy one or more item throughout the season, but the added biodiversity is good for everyone. It opens doors.
2) A way to truly connect with a local farm, beyond a transaction. Participating in the events held at the farm, and speaking on a regular basis with the farmer and other members is critical to that relationship. There is an intangible feeling of supporting someone and something directly and personally, which is less present or not present at all in other types of transactions.
Of course as a customer, neither of those points may excite, but if you enter into a CSA without consciously wanting those things you may not have the full experience. As much as we think they should be, CSA's just aren't for everyone, and local co-ops, farmers markets, and other resources are equally important avenues for finding local produce for that segment of the population.