STATE COLLEGE, PA—Earlier this month, about 2,000 farmers, gardeners, and people who care about where our food comes participated in the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture’s 18th annual conference, Farming for the Future. There, they attended workshops to learn more about raising food without demolishing the environment, and how to better connect their pasture-raised chicken, chemical-free tomatoes, and grass-fed beef to your plate. The good news? It’s easier than ever to find these farmers. And when you do, you’ll have the pleasure of knowing where in the world your food came from.
THE DETAILS: Workshop topics ranged from solar power and rural energy independence to organic apple production and 21st-century victory gardens. The attendance numbers reveal that an interest in producing chemical-free food is on the rise: Of the 2,000 conference attendees, about 500 were first-time participants. Fourth-generation farmers mingled with recent college graduates looking to trade in office jobs for a life of working the land.
WHAT YOU CAN DO: Even if you’ve never experienced the pleasure of pulling a carrot out of the earth, you participate in agriculture through the choices you make when buying your food. The question is, are you supporting agricultural methods that leach harmful chemicals into our food and water supply, or growers who use organic methods that work with nature, not against it?
Here are some messages from the PASA conference:
• Organic doesn’t have to be expensive. During the growing season, try getting as much organically produced food as you can from farmer’s markets, community-supported agriculture (CSA) programs, or by buying direct from a nearby organic farm. Some farmers don’t let the snow stop them, either. Many have greenhouses and are beginning to offer winter CSA shares, too. Use these tips to stretch your organic dollar even further:
1. Buy in bulk, split the cost. CSA shares require you to pay a set fee up front for a boxful of freshly harvested veggies every week. If the fee, or the amount of food you get for it, is more than you can handle, ask a neighbor, friend, or family member to split the cost and the produce. Split the cost of a bushel of cucumbers from the farmer’s market with a friend and have a pickling party. Buy a side of beef or a whole butchered pig at a reduced price, and store the extra in a freezer.
2. Time it right. For some popular veggies and fruits, it pays to pass by the earliest crop. The first few pints of tomatoes of the season, for example, are far more expensive than the ones that ripen a few weeks later because they’re in such high demand. If you want to save some money—and can stand to wait for a week or two—hold off and the prices will drop. Talk to other farm-market patrons, or even the farmers themselves, to find out which edibles are in high demand.
3. Carpool to the farm. Save gas and socialize: Get together with friends, family, or neighbors and take turns driving each other to the farmer’s market. Or, if you’re pressed for time, take turns driving out to pick up each other’s produce.
• Farms have gone digital. Use these online resources to find sustainable farms in your area—the farms are out there, and they want your business:
Rodale Institute Farm Locator
Local Harvest
Eat Wild
Eat Well Guide
• Your taste buds can be reeducated. Once you’re linked in to your local, organic food supply, you’ll be encountering all sorts of things you’ve never seen at a grocery store before. Go ahead and try some new tastes. Give your taste buds time to acclimate, and eventually you’ll be salivating at the thought of fresh rutabaga.
• It pays to talk with your farmers. By getting to know the local sustainable farmers in your area, you are taking control of your family’s safety. If something’s wrong with the food, you’ll know where to go get answers. That’s not the case when you’re buying from huge distributors—it can take weeks or months to figure out the source of a food-borne illness outbreak. “Before they became buzzwords, traceability and transparency have long been practiced by our farming members,” says Chris Fullerton, director of consumer outreach for PASA.
Besides, sustainable farmers are just more interesting. Case in point—meet PASA conference attendee Troy Bishopp, a.k.a. "The Grass Whisperer."