This 'spark' went off while watching a pretty good documentary on the.......well......'Documentary Channel' ().....Which was called 'Ingredients: The Local Food Movement Takes Root. Damned good. Spoke with local farmers.....Grocers.....and Restaurants which, to the max extent possible, by the freshest 'local' produce and butchered livestock. It also kinda stuck in my brain pan as I drove from the coast back to Charlotte-town the other day and passed many, many farmers markets and produce stands (I took advantage of one selling delicious cantaloupe and watermelon......Thank You, Potter Farm...Kinston, NC....).

I guess it just made me think a little about where we get our food....Or if most folks even THINK about it. How far HAVE most of us moved away from the 'soil'? I know that over the past several decades there's been a melting away of small (or even large) family farms while 'industrial agriculture' has exploded. Regarding this, one guy in the documentary said (paraphrased) the following:

"It hit me that I was no longer growing food......I was producing a commodity"

If you think about it, that's what it's become.....A commodity. Feedlot beef production is a good example....and by no means the only one. But for anyone who really pays attention, what tastes better, and is likely BETTER for you? A tomato purchased from a local farmer (or grown yourself)? Or a tomato picked green......mostly ripened and sprayed with chems to get rid of unsightly spots.....and shipped long distances in refrigerated trucks?

I think y'all know the answer. This could apply to almost any 'fresh' food.

Another thing was said by a lady in the documentary who said it struck HER how effed up our food system became when she noted the origin of some green beans she was buying in the early 90s from Ethiopia......Right smack dab in the middle of their most recent famine. How does THIS square?

I'm going to close this OP, and y'all realize there's a MILLION holes....So I expect lots of input...thoughts....meanderings, whatever. Let's just say that in-general, I'd like to see more family farms...more local SUPPORT for family farms (I think 'Whole Foods' does this to the extent possible).....More people aware of what food really is (this sounds strange....but really, think about it), and dammit....I'd like to see more people growing their OWN food too! I do it...and anyone with ANY patch of soil around their 'stead can grow SOMEthing!

Just a caveat. We're not talking vegetarianism, veganism, organic (unless you want to) or any of that other stuff. We're just talking food. The fresher and closer to you the better.

(I've got other stuff about this buzzing around in my skull....I'll add more later)

 

Something over 95% of farms are family owned and operated regardless of operating structure (corporation vs sole proprietorship). What are you, some kind of commie that would deny family farmers the economy of scale that every other industry in the U.S. enjoys?

 

Only if I were calling for the power of the government to step in and FORCE them to do so......

 

The "industrialization" isn't in the production agriculture, it is in the processing, distribution, and marketing sectors. If farmers can figure out how to direct market their products I say more power to them, but I hope they're prepared with sufficient insurance when little Johnny gets the green apple gripe from eating their produce and his mommy and daddy sue them.

 

Remember when I mentioned a 'million holes' in this issue? Glad you're here. I know you're in the sector. I'm sure you can fill a bunch of those holes, such as, what DID really happen to the family farm in the 70s and 80s? To be fair to the doc, they did mention this....They also mentioned farms either closing down, or otherwise combining or changing the way they do business......i.e. 'get big or DIE'.....What changed with agriculture in general?

Regarding your latter point (insurance), well, there's always that concern. But the fact is, some farmers DO practice 'direct selling'........The examples I gave in the OP is one way...and some restaurants and grocers (I mentioned Whole Foods.....which is doing very well, BTW) are in the 'buy local' as much as possible (and depending on season). Hell....Even some supermarkets, like Harris Teeter load up on 'local' whenever they can....

(Keep in mind, I'm NOT necessarily saying 'organic' either.......The organic section is separate in the produce section.....)

One way or the other (and for a bunch of reasons I'm sure) it's all about being (food) as cheap as possible...and when most food is shipped over long distances.....does that not disconnect most of us from what we're really eating? What ABOUT transportation costs? That's about 25% of all fuel consumption last time I checked. Would more and more 'local' also mean less and less fuel demand?

This is kind of an open thread. Sorry.

 

It was and still is probably inevitable to some degree, but if you're looking for a single person to point fingers at look no farther than that Republican, Agribusiness lackey, and all around sorry excuse for a human being (see his comments about what colored people want that got him fired if you doubt that assessment) Secretary of Agriculture Earl Butz.
A reflection on the lasting legacy of 1970s USDA Secretary Earl Butz | Grist

Follow that philosophy with a Democrat President who decided to use Agriculture as his foreign policy "Big Stick" over an invasion of..........wait for it...............Afghanistan.................... for a complete farm economic disaster.
1980 grain embargo - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Wow. Just wow.

Great example of putting a coyote in charge of the henhouse.

What an a$$......Even without the remarks.

 

If we go back a bit, Americans even in suburbs grew much of their own food (you can still see the distinctive back yards using Google Earth), and Victory Gardens contributed greatly to feeding the US during WWII. Local gardening never completely died, and poultry production is increasing as "backyard chickens" become more popular.

One reason many Americans are obese nowadays is the preference for marketing "food" that's unhealthy but profitable.

Anyone ELSE on here old enough to remember when most Americans weren't fat as hogs?

It's not "lifestyle", its eating garbage often laced with HFCS.

U.S. Obesity Rate Set to Soar, Costing Billions: CDC: MedlinePlus

 

.....A situation I think should be the norm....(the home garden). One good thing about home gardening.....Once you do it, you rarely stop. It's a message I love to spread any chance I get....Sometimes by just bringing in extra produce and leading by example...

I hate to sound maudlin....But I think it just brings folks closer to the soil....Closer to the basics...and it's a GREAT (and healthy) survival skill. YOU know the source....You've worked it...and there's a good chance you've gotten into stuff like canning (I do). There's no downside to home gardening, and every little bit helps.

Yessssss!

PREEEEE-cisely!

(You must have read clux' article on Earl Butz. )

His 'dream' (and pressure on farmers in the 70s) was to become the world's breadbasket, and cram as much corn and soya into the food pipeline as possible.......And to increase exports. Refined 'food' producers loved it. He ALSO was a big proponent of the ethanol craze.

I'm 47....How about you? But I do remember. I'm sure we can't blame it ALL on food intake.....


Yup. Thanks Earl Butz.

 

There were sendentary office workers before there were PCs, and they spend their evenings watching the Idiot Box instead of surfing the (non-existant yet) net. Those generations didn't tend to turn into land whales.

Most of the change is due to spectacularly nasty commercial food unethically marketed. The decline of high school education means few people know how to cook decent meals, so they rely on fast food which has also changed considerably.

If you visit Europe, the people look dramatically narrower.

I don't garden since I wouldn't use enough volume to be worth plowing around the parked trucks. We do keep backyard chickens which are semi-free range. We get delicious eggs (I usually eat 'em boiled, just yolks, and give the rest back to the flock) and they keep the yard free of bugs (and mice, which hens go "all T-Rex" on and devour.)

Hmm...looks like Monsantos "chickens" are coming home to roost:

Monsanto Corn Injured by Early Rootworm Feeding in Illinois - Bloomberg

 

I don't have any magic bullet idea on what should be done...Just a nagging suspicion that there should be more 'local' production/consumption, versus the Butz prescription of (from the article) "hyper-efficient and centralized", wherein mega-acres of corn and soy is the norm.....as is export/import of 'food commodities', rather than just plain old food. Again. What to do about this? Don't know. Perhaps just more and more demand on the local scale for local products....and the acceptance of (mostly) the concept of learning and enjoying 'seasonal' ingredients will slowly gear food production to the local market. Slow but sure. Who knows?

This is kind of far out there, but I think it's actually a national security issue also wherein food production is distributed as far and wide as possible so that there is less of an effect on the outright availability of food is the s--t hits the fan and there's, say....a big disruption of transportation (availability of fuel....Hell...maybe a freaking EMP attack or something where the ignitions/computers on the semis are fried.......). Imagine the effect of such a disaster if an area relies on the vast majority of their food from far away sources....and there's no way to get the food there.

I don't really see any way to 100% prevent the effects (except to prevent the attack itself), but I think that as more and more food production is distributed.....every local area and region is a 'food producer', and Hell....more people are growing their own food....we'd be better able to survive.

And again..I just think that 'local' is better...and home-grown is the best of all.

Caveat: I am NOT trying to end exports/imports. Crap.....There's some stuff we really can't grow (except in limited quantities....like coffee from Hawaii.....or tropical fruits). And I have no problem at all with us exporting food. By no means. I'm just wondering what we've lost as a people in understanding food, farming, the soil...and dang......the great outdoors.

 

Oh yeah. And clux. I know we've had the discussion before on the expectation of Americans to pay more for their food...and the insatiable demand for 'cheap' food. I, for one am willing to pay more. I usually rail against prices when the prices are driven up because either a) it's driven by higher fuel costs (there's that transportation effect again....), or b) it's driven by a weaker, inflated dollar.

But with seasonal products you CAN get the produce fairly cheap, because it's coming right from the nearby fields to that produce outlet you see on the side of the road. Better for everyone all-around.

 

And let me give a 'shout-out' to clux and monckywrench for contributing. I'm glad there's at least 3 of us who care about food.......

 

Okay, I'll chime in. I like local stuff, too, particularly home-grown.

But, like you alluded to, Steve, I'm also not necessarily in favor of giving of transport of food. If we did that, those of us in Indiana would never see another orange or OJ. On the flip side, apples grow just fine here in IN, so there's no need to ship them in from Washington.

What would be good is if regions had their specialty crops that other couldn't grow easily and ship those across the country, but grow the bulk of their food locally.

And, what I'm really trying to work towards (and have made significant progress) is cutting out the processed foods. I still have my weaknesses of course, but I really do have a hard time even considering a meal from a fast-food joint (don't mind Subway--I load my subs with veggies when I eat there). I cut out regular sodas/pops/Cokes years ago, and just drink those only rarely now.

Now, due to my wife's recent little health scare (mild heart attack at 37, with no risk factors, in excellent shape, low BP and low cholesterol, just a freak event), I want to step it up a notch with healthy eating. For starters, I plan to at least double the size of our garden next year (it's about 6'x40' now), and do more bucket/planter gardening, with an eye towards variety. On top of that, our church has a fair amount of land and has four 40'x100' plots planted now, and I'll probably take a more active role in helping with all that next year (and a more active role reaping and eating, of course...) I also intend to cut further the amount of processed food that comes in this house just so that I'm not eating it on a regular basis, but I won't be a **** about never eating any.

Jason

 

One more thing I forgot to mention. It's a bit of a shameless plug, but I'm going to do it anyway. A HS classmate of mine has recently written a book entitled, "The Happiness Diet". He's an assistant professor of clinical psychiatry at Columbia U. in NY. I have not yet read the book, but will as soon as the copy my wife just ordered arrives. I know one of the things he rails against is the prevalence of industrial vegetable fats/oils.

Just to be clear, I'm not getting this book to treat any mental disorders or anything like that--I just know that he'll have lots of good eating advice in there, and the health effects on the brain are a bonus.

Here's his website:

www.drewramseymd.com

I'm kicking myself for not getting a copy sooner--I just saw him a couple weeks ago at our (cough)th HS reunion. I would have liked to get him to sign it.

Jason