You can buy this easy to do Indoor Lettuce Growing Kit from Pleasant Hedges on Etsy
The more I learn about the food industry, the more depressed and alarmed I get. Really, the more I think about it, food shouldn't be an industry at all. Maybe specialized foods? But when you get right down to it, the main motivation for the people putting food on your plate is not your well being, it's their bottom line. Their profit. As a result, walking through the aisles of the grocery store yesterday, surrounded by all the flashy colorful packaging, I felt like... well, a consumer. One who consumes. Without thought.
"Agribusiness" or "corporate farming" is done by megacorporations encompassing not only the farm, but the whole chain of food processing, from seed supply to agricultural chemicals, processing, transport, etc. These companies have powerful lobbies in Washington to keep the status quo. They supply convenience, but often not nutrition or taste (beyond the taste of high fructose corn syrup). There are myriad reasons I think this system is a serious problem, which I'll go into at a later date.
But is there an alternative? Well, sure. You could buy a couple of acres, quit your day job, and grow all your own food. (Honestly, I'd love to). While that's not an option for everybody, there are small efforts you could make in that direction - put a tomato in a pot on your patio this year, or grow some lettuce indoors. It'll save you money, and then you'll know what you're putting in your body.
Any others alternatives? I have a few suggestions. First, find out if there's a farmer's market near you. If you're in Tennessee, check out http://www.picktnproducts.org to find out who's got fresh (often organic) produce for very reasonable prices. Other states may have similar sites, which you should be able to find through a simple Internet search.
Or, you could join a CSA. CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. Basically, you buy a share in a farm at the beginning of a growing season, and the farm contracts to supply you with fresh produce for a period of time. Length of time and products vary, and many CSA farms are certified organic, or often organic but not certified (the process of certification is a pain). Some of them you pay for the entire year up front, and some you can pay monthly or weekly. What can you get? The variety is astounding: fresh eggs, meats, produce, honey, and more. Then you arrange to pick up your basket usually on a weekly basis. I am definitely doing this this year, though I haven't chosen a farm yet. You can go to http://www.localharvest.org, type in your zip code, and find farms near you participating in this program, see what they're growing, visit their websites. If you still need reasons to support local agriculture, check out this post.
Buon appetito!
"Agribusiness" or "corporate farming" is done by megacorporations encompassing not only the farm, but the whole chain of food processing, from seed supply to agricultural chemicals, processing, transport, etc. These companies have powerful lobbies in Washington to keep the status quo. They supply convenience, but often not nutrition or taste (beyond the taste of high fructose corn syrup). There are myriad reasons I think this system is a serious problem, which I'll go into at a later date.
But is there an alternative? Well, sure. You could buy a couple of acres, quit your day job, and grow all your own food. (Honestly, I'd love to). While that's not an option for everybody, there are small efforts you could make in that direction - put a tomato in a pot on your patio this year, or grow some lettuce indoors. It'll save you money, and then you'll know what you're putting in your body.
Any others alternatives? I have a few suggestions. First, find out if there's a farmer's market near you. If you're in Tennessee, check out http://www.picktnproducts.org to find out who's got fresh (often organic) produce for very reasonable prices. Other states may have similar sites, which you should be able to find through a simple Internet search.
Or, you could join a CSA. CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. Basically, you buy a share in a farm at the beginning of a growing season, and the farm contracts to supply you with fresh produce for a period of time. Length of time and products vary, and many CSA farms are certified organic, or often organic but not certified (the process of certification is a pain). Some of them you pay for the entire year up front, and some you can pay monthly or weekly. What can you get? The variety is astounding: fresh eggs, meats, produce, honey, and more. Then you arrange to pick up your basket usually on a weekly basis. I am definitely doing this this year, though I haven't chosen a farm yet. You can go to http://www.localharvest.org, type in your zip code, and find farms near you participating in this program, see what they're growing, visit their websites. If you still need reasons to support local agriculture, check out this post.
Buon appetito!
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