[Rail Paul]

Local Roots, Local Foods

Quote

But weeks before the [spinanch contamination] source was found, Ms. Steineger, a filmmaker and writer in Portland, Ore., decided to start eating leafy greens again. Only this time they were from PastaWorks, a local food store that buys its produce from local farmers.

“That’s good enough for me,” she said.

Ms. Steineger’s reach for food grown on smaller farms close to home is part of a larger trend that food industry analysts say is gaining ground among consumers who are willing to pay a little more for quality food. As a result, people who grow food on small farms or make artisanal cheese or other foods on a more regional scale are finding new eaters.

They are also forgoing traditional sales methods and marketing approaches. Instead of trying to break into large distribution chains and fighting for shelf space, they are finding that smaller is better, particularly if there is a good back story. Produce from an upstate New York farm, for example, reinvigorated the image of Great Performances, a Manhattan catering company, earlier this year. In California, a family that makes olive oil dropped out of many mainstream grocery stores in favor of farmers’ markets and Internet sales.

And at Tierra Farms, a 20-acre urban farm near Santa Rosa, Calif., sales are approaching $500,000 with a customer base made up mostly of people who live less than 30 miles away.

[GG Mora]

Aside from cheese, the article makes no mention of locally grown animal products (meat, eggs, milk). For a lot of people, that's becoming at least an equal concern – for me, it's an even greater concern. I'm no PETA militant, but I've become very aware of the deplorable conditions in which animals are raised on large factory farms. I've recently stepped up my efforts to source my meat and dairy locally, and to reward farms that treat their animals humanely with my business.

It's almost insanely expensive, but it feels right. If enough of us refuse to support barbaric farming, maybe things will start to change; maybe someday it will be cheaper to buy locally.

[SLBunge]

GG Mora, on Nov 18 2006, 09:46 AM, said:

It's almost insanely expensive, but it feels right. If enough of us refuse to support barbaric farming, maybe things will start to change; maybe someday it will be cheaper to buy locally.

My hope as well. I think it certainly will be cheaper than it is currently. But my expectation is that it will never approach the insanely low prices for animal products that you see in Costco or huge supermarket chains. And I'm OK with that. To me, we have come to expect an unmanageably low cost of food in this country and it comes with a downside.

I'm willing to take a little abuse from people who think I'm tilting at the windmill. I don't think I am exactly. There seem to be more and more people who feel that sourcing stuff locally does matter. Right now, at least, I have the means to pay to make this decision and as GG Mora notes, it feels right. I like that fact that take an afternoon and drive to the farm where the lamb was raised or the butter was churned. And I also like that the butcher recognizes me when I go into his shop. Gives a little more meaning to my link in the foodchain.

[voyager]

SLBunge, on Nov 18 2006, 09:31 AM, said:

GG Mora, on Nov 18 2006, 09:46 AM, said:

It's almost insanely expensive, but it feels right. If enough of us refuse to support barbaric farming, maybe things will start to change; maybe someday it will be cheaper to buy locally.

My hope as well. I think it certainly will be cheaper than it is currently. But my expectation is that it will never approach the insanely low prices for animal products that you see in Costco or huge supermarket chains. And I'm OK with that. To me, we have come to expect an unmanageably low cost of food in this country and it comes with a downside.

I'm willing to take a little abuse from people who think I'm tilting at the windmill. I don't think I am exactly. There seem to be more and more people who feel that sourcing stuff locally does matter. Right now, at least, I have the means to pay to make this decision and as GG Mora notes, it feels right. I like that fact that take an afternoon and drive to the farm where the lamb was raised or the butter was churned. And I also like that the butcher recognizes me when I go into his shop. Gives a little more meaning to my link in the foodchain.

[mongo_jones]

as some of you may remember, a bunch of us colorado mouthfullers bought 1/2 a free-range, grass-fed, naturally raised cow early in the summer. this is the only beef we've eaten since*. we buy all our pork products from long family farms (liza can speak to the quality of this meat), and recently all our chicken (naturally raised) from wisdom poultry, whence came also our thanksgiving turkey. it is all cheaper than big grocery store alternatives--and much, much better. but that might be a colorado thing--it is possible that buying from farms is not quite the lifestyle thing that it is in the north-east.

*we being the jones clan. i have no idea what crap the other three degenerates have been eating in addition.