Farm Fresh

I, like my friend Katie, am an NPR junkie. On my way to work the other day I heard this very informational piece on farming in your community. I don't mean having your own farm, although you could if you wanted to. Did you know on average your produce travels 15,000 miles to get to you? Bananas from South America, cheese from California,and some potatoes from China. Food from around world is great because you can get anything you want no matter what the season. Unfortunately, you pay a high(er) price (literally)...the food is shipped unripened an is ripened when it is closer to you. For those of you who didn't know this, they do it because ripe fruit doesn't travel well and can get disease, bacteria, and fungus if shipped ripe. Tomatoes for exampled are shipped green and then exposed to ethylene to redden them. I thought everyone would benefit from fresh produce, while boosting your local economy. Check out www.localharvest.org for local farmer's markets or CSA's (Community Supported Agricultural farms) which are also neat. You pay a subscription fee up front/before the growing season and in return you get fresh produce delivered to your home on a weekly or monthly basis. There are many types for CSA's too. There is not just produce, but also fresh flowers, eggs, poultry and beef too. Thank you for visiting my soapbox.