Blogsurfing Saturday
May 23, 2009 by Marye Audet
Filed under challenges
Running late today…But I wanted to get blogsurfing Saturday in before Sunday!
You all know that I believe strongly in buying local, buying fresh, buying organic, buying fair trade whenever possible. I don’t see this as a new thing, it was the way I was raised. Yep, way back in the 1960s my parents who lived through the Depression drilled into my head that the only way one could be truly free was to be as self-sustainable as possible. Rather than dependence on people you don’t know, my dad said, have relationship with neighbors and those that you will see each day.
Dad felt this was the strength of a country, neighbors taking care of neighbors not government babysitters. My parents were middle aged when I came along and I was an only child. They poured into me a love for the environment and a strong sense of responsibility for those around me. I have always felt very driven to protect, to do the right thing, to care for.
It is hard, these days to juggle ethics and need. Groceries are outrageous and I can’t always buy organics. But doing what I can is better than doing nothing at all.
Today’s Blogsurfing is a bit different than usual. I have come across several sites that make it easy to shop locally, shop organically and shop fairly. Only you know what your budget will allow you to do, but if we each do something then things will change. Rather than hoping for socialized medicine? Perhaps paying a neighbor’s doctor bill yourself would be possible. Rather than depending on government organizations to feed the homeless? We have been known to go home, fix a lunch and take it back to a homeless person. Rather than depending on government organizations to maintain a safe food supply buy locally and see how your food is raised or better yet, raise it yourself!
Yes, it is time for a change. It is time to stop existing as wage slaves and drones and start making thoughtful decisions that put our country in a healthy place. We were discussing Feudal times and serfdom this morning at breakfast. Only us, I know, but my 16 year old mentioned and not for the first time) that the American people are little more than serfs. We own nothing. If someone can take it away from you, well you don’t really own it do you?
Ready?
- Regional Best – What are you looking for locally? Well it is right here!
- This isn’t food, for the most part, but did you know you can shop local on Etsy?
- Pick Your Own farms make an awesome family outing. We pick blueberries in East Texas every year. Find farms near you.
- Local Harvest – the name says it all.
- Eat Well Guide- Restaurants, organic farms, more.
- USDA list of Farmer’s Markets
And while I usually stick to links this week I am going to give you a few tips because this issue is just that important.
- People like me, who raise goats for milk cannot legally sell the milk for human consumption in most places. BUT some goat dairies will be glad to rent you a percentage of the goat for a season. So, you would rent 1/3 of the goat and get 1/3 of everything it produces for a season. Don’t laugh, should you choose to take your 1/3 of the manure you will find you have a great fertilizer for your garden. Other goat dairies will sell the milk as a nutritious drink for your pets. What you do with it after you buy it is, of course, up to you. You can check with the NDGA or the AGS for farms near you.
- Ask around at feed stores. People who run feed stores are usually chatty and know everything that is going on on the agricultural side of things. You may be able to find leads to eggs, milk, and even veggies and fruits.
- No matter how small an area you have you can raise herbs and a container of salad greens. There is nothing that beats fresh cilantro!
- Get a dehydator. Dehydrating produce is fast and easy, and you don’t have to deal with hot jars. Buy in season, preserve, and eat all year. Dehydrated food takes a fraction of the space as frozen or canned.
- If you are growing green beans and your neighbors grows tomatoes….TRADE!
Every little thing will turn into a big thing if many people do it.
Image: Cori
oh, yeah. There are ways around the state control, and it begins one person at a time, in their own neighborhood, with their own friends, churches, organizations. Somehow, some way we have to take our country back.
Heard there was a bill being pushed through to give the government control of all the water. Yeah, not just the city water systems. Your own well. In your own backyard. Control the water? Control the people. It’s creepy.
To say nothing of the chipping of animals, and who knows what else, that “we” went ahead and signed over to government control because people freaked out over 9/11 – right fully so on the freak out just not on giving all our freedoms away so we’d be “safe”.
Hitler had some of the same ploys. Oh, the communists set fire to the Reichstag – give up your freedoms and the government will protect you. Ugh. Those who don’t learn from their history are doomed to repeat it.
Oops. This is YOUR blog, isn’t it? Getting off my soap box now.
We do a lot of garden trading around here. We also have meat CSAs in addition to the fruit/veggie types – they are growing in popularity. Most of my “groceries” during growing season are all from farmers I know. I’m not good at the self-sustainability because of our soil, animal issues, etc. I’m actually spending this summer trying to figure out how to be more self-reliant in terms of our food-sourcing. For now, being part of a produce CSA and a poultry CSA works for us.
great post Marye. The more of us that feel this way the better. And yes I know not everyone can go the whole hog all the time, but as Hugh Fearnley-WHittingstall says, do what you can when you can, and the difference it makes will add up.
The more people that opt into sustainable agriculture and who support their local producers the better for each of us.
I agree Valli. I wish that there was a way people could see the link between quality and relationship
Hi Mary,
Thanks for the mention! We are proud to support local artisans and producers — not only to help them bring their products beyond their local farmers market, but to also tell their awesome stories. We too support sustainable and eco-friendly farming and production practices at RegionalBest.com.
i am still checking out the site, Marsha.
Marye,
I rent a part of a cow like you said. My small postage stamp yard would not be able to sustain any animal life. But I have turned most of the yard into a garden. The green beans are shooting up, the eggplants and peppers are coming up pretty and the tomatoes! oh the tomatoes are beautiful. I buy only grass fed meat and it is so good. For someone who buys in the grocery store they have no idea how good the products are if you just get to know your farmer
Jonica, Where there is a will there is a way, huh?