I love going to the farmers market. It makes me feel more in tune with the earth and the seasons. Each season brings an incredible abundance of nourishing food. I so enjoy talking with the farmers and hearing about how their planting and harvests are coming and getting to know them personally. They share useful tips regarding preparing the food they grow, they give me the occasional gift of a food that I haven’t tried, and our beekeeper/honey provider always gives honey sticks to Colson and his friends (we meet lots of friends at the market).
I am fortunate to be in North Carolina, because we have four growing seasons. After a longer than usual winter, when we still enjoyed delicious greens, Brussels sprouts and locally and sustainably raised meats and eggs from the farmers market, Spring is here! I love all of the seasons, but Spring may be my favorite because of the explosion of food that it brings: the lettuces are amazing, tomatoes are back, along with broccoli, herbs, and STRAWBERRIES! Finally, strawberries. As spring progresses, more foods will become available, and then on to summer with its amazing squashes, peppers, watermelons, corn and more. The earth just keeps on giving.
An Unexpected Benefit Caused by Eating Local
Almost three years ago, my family removed all processed foods from our diet. We now purchase approximately 75 percent of our food (and sometimes more) from the farmers market or directly from local farms. So many surprises have come from our switch from the stores to the farmers market. Perhaps the most unexpected was how our waste production was affected. Both our landfill waste and our recycling waste dramatically declined. Why? Because cracker boxes, pasta boxes, yogurt cups, juice boxes, egg cartons, cereal boxes, cookie boxes, jars of various sauces and more are banished from our waste stream. If we don’t consume it, we can’t recycle it or bury it.
What do I do with the egg cartons that hold the eggs that I purchase directly from the farmer every week? I return them so that the farmer can reuse them. And the community supported agriculture (CSA) box? Return it to the farmer for reuse. How about the jars that hold the honey I purchase? I either use them to store the broth that I make from the chicken and beef bones, or I return them to the honey farmer so that he can reuse them.
Health Benefits
I make about 98 percent of our food, and the benefits are far reaching. Our health has soared because of eating locally grown, mostly organic, nourishing food. Seasonal allergies, ADHD, and the aches and pains that people associate with being over 40 have been greatly reduced or almost eliminated. In fact, the older we get the better we feel. Obviously there is a lot to undo in terms of the bad health effects caused by eating industrially raised and processed “foods.” By choosing the farmers market, our local farmers are supported, which is critical to prevent even greater control of our food stream by industrial farms.
Personal Economic Benefits
I have many personal stories to share regarding the economic benefits of eating locally and sustainably raised foods, and I have settled on this one. Ryan, my husband, was laid off for the second time in two years. We were three months into that one, and the company gave no notice or severance. The first layoff lasted six months and was economically devastating. We had to pay the mortgage for our former home in Florida that we were trying to sell, our rent in North Carolina, and later I was laid off too. “Financial cushion” was not part of our vocabulary, and clearly a second layoff was stressful.
Many people say that they can’t afford the “healthy” food, but believe me it is possible if you just use your meat bones to make broth and turn the broth into a lentil or bean and rice soup. One chicken can go a long way – into 12 or 14 meals even.
We made it on our own financially by piecing work together. Even so, people were so generous to us. Our veggie CSA farmer put extra into our box and told us to ask for whatever we need. Our beef farmer regularly asked how Ryan’s job search was coming, and he tried and give us beef, which I refused because we were committed to making it on our own. Regardless of our efforts, we were supposed to ask if we needed meat because they knew what it is like to go through tough times and they wanted to help. Eventually they just forced it on us and we were immensely grateful.
How is that for community? Farmers are just kind-hearted.
Must Have Information if You are New to the Farmers Market
If you want to buy healthy food affordably, visit your local farmers market and ask, ask, ask your questions so that you really get what you want. I believe that 99% of farmers are honest. They will tell you the truth regarding whether or not they use insecticides, fungicides, other chemicals, and in the case of animals, hormones and/or antibiotics. They will knowingly give up your sale by telling you the truth about their use of chemicals, for example.
I know from personal experience, however, that there is the very rare farmer that isn’t truthful, so you want to ask and ask again. Here are a few questions to ensure that you are purchasing healthy food:
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Is your food genetically modified? Read List of Genetically Modified Foods for more information.
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Is your food organic? If it isn’t certified organic, is it grown in organic conditions anyway? Certification is expensive and many small farmers do not seek it even though they grow organically.
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Are pesticides used?
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Do you use hormones or antibiotics when raising your animals? Note that only lamb and beef are legally permitted to receive hormones, and poultry receives only antibiotics. Ideally you want to purchase from a farmer who uses neither of these and makes the correct claims in their advertising and labeling. For example, a farmer who makes the claim that the chickens are added hormone-free is making misleading claim to try to pump up their reputation. Chickens can’t receive hormones, so the claim is meaningless. I avoid those farmers.
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Does the farmer’s verbal advertising match his written advertising. If not, that is a great big red flag. There are laws governing written advertising. If a farmer won’t write the claim down, then it probably isn’t true.
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Are animals raised free range on pasture as opposed to “free range” and cooped up in a barn?
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Does the farmer supplement his food production with purchases from another farm? If so, what is the name of the farm and do they use sustainable practices? If you want to purchase the product, be sure to ask the second farm the questions in this article.
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Will the farmer let you visit the farm with very little notice? If a farmer finds excuse after excuse to keep you from visiting, avoid purchasing from her. You don’t even have to go to the farm, although that is always helpful for understanding your food. Just knowing that you can visit with little notice is reassuring because it signals that the farmer is an honest farmer who doesn’t need to hide things he doesn’t want you to see.
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