7 Reasons to Eat Ethically

I was interviewed for this several weeks ago and I am reason #4

7 Reasons To Eat Local, Sustainable Food

Posted on Dec 2012 By Eden Canon Interviews, Issue 4 Holiday 2012

Are you debating whether local, responsibly produced food is worth the extra expense and effort?  Here’s what farmers, producers and restauranteurs want you to know.

Wake up and connect food back to medicine. Eating the Standard American Diet is the shortest road to obesity, cancer, autoimmune disorders, inflammation, asthma…you name it. Unconscious, government trusting, corporate trusting people are going to die pretty darn quick…all in the name of long shelf life and FOOD INC profits. Darwin will figure this whole thing out in just a few generations. It is truly sad. Those that learn to cook and eat whole organic foods again will thrive. Simple as that. Get to know your farmer and get to know your food. Your life is at stake.

Mark McAfee, Organic Pastures

Getting back to the sustainable and local, I think it’s a no brainer. Maybe that’s because this is my world but if you could buy things in season and locally, you’re king of the hill.  You’re getting it fresher and its going to be the most nutritious, and most likely the most delicious.  You’re keeping the money within the community.  You’re supporting small-scale family farming.  You’re helping to maintain agricultural land instead of letting it turn into a strip mall.

Andy Powning, Greenleaf

I would say it is absolutely worth it.  You can taste the difference and feel good about doing it.

Clayton Chapman, The Grey Plume

It is so worth it—the food is much, much better (fresher and varieties that no grocery store will ever sell); you are directly supporting farmers who are farming in a way that is not detrimental to the Earth and not to faceless middle people. Plus it is really fun to get to know the people who grow your food, which you can do if you shop at your local farmers market or join a CSA (a real CSA that has a farm that the members can visit and is not just a buying club for Organic foods with no farm/farmer connection). Maybe 1 in 10 people in the US know a real farmer—be a part of that minority!

Lucy Owsley-Goodman, Boulder Belt Eco Farm

It’s your responsibility as a citizen on this planet.

Maria Hines, Tilth Restaurant

Every bite supports a local farm. Every bite keeps that farm from being sold and turned into another crappy strip mall or cul de sac development.

Steven Grasse, Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction

 What you put into your body is really important and so I think it behooves anybody to at least do their research to find out where that food is coming from, how it’s raised, how it’s processed.
And if you don’t care you might be buying a product from somebody who might not care either.

Mary Rickert, Prather Ranch