Family Farms

As we spoke about in class, family farms are being put out of business at an alarming rate because of large corporations taking control of the food production at even the most basic levels. Sustainabletable.org goes into detail about sustainability and how educate yourself about this healthy eating. According to this site, "Sustainable agriculture is a way of raising food that is healthy for consumers and animals, does not harm the environment, is humane for workers, respects animals, provides a fair wage to the farmer, and supports and enhances rural communities." This promotes many of the main concepts we have been discussing in this class, including conservation and preservation, biodiversity and economic viability. This is all well and good and I'm sure many of us would prefer eating this kind of food daily, but as we have discussed on the Go-Post, it is not always affordable.

This article describes George Page, a farmer on Vashon Island, who joined this local food revolution in 2007. He is able to provide fresh meat and dairy that may outsell local farmers markets, but admits that his prices are expensive. It is "up to $8 a dozen for duck eggs, and about $20 for a 4-pound, pasture-raised chicken," though he does pay more for the best feed for his animals. However, in a time where our economy has taken some pretty hard hits and many are trying to get by by spending as little as possible, it is nearly impossible to keep up. Is there a way in the future we can make local organic food more accessible to the seemingly growing lower-middle class?

On a different note, this is a more "inspirational" article for college students like us that might have trouble knowing what is best away from home. I would suggest taking a look at this student who was able to change his eating habits and after he realized that you are what you eat.

-Nicole Boland