It's Easy Being Green

I ran across this cool video thanks to the folks over at Brain Pickings. The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts is known for their pretty remarkable sketchnote animations drawn to illustrate points being made by well-known writers and researchers. To further encourage budding filmmakers, the RSA is currently sponsoring a contest to bring some of their talks new life with new animations.

I of course have to share the film based on Michael Pollan’sFood Rules. Make sure to check out the other animations in the competition and vote while you’re there.

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Here at the Half-Acre Homestead we take a lot of time to watch what we eat. Organic products get the green light to jump into our shopping cart at the store but we’re very mindful of everything else, especially foods that contain Genetically Engineered or “Modified” ingredients (often labeled as “GE” or “GM”).

Based on our research, we firmly believe GM or GE foods are not only a danger to our health but also to our ecosystem. The contamination issues alone are worrisome as genetically modified strains of plants begin interacting with the natural environment and with non-GM varieties. I don’t eat food with pesticides applied to it so why on earth would I want to eat food that creates its own pesticide inside the very plant I’m consuming? It’s abhorrent to think about. Add to that the track record of big agribusinesses who tinker with nature for their own profitability (like Monsanto) and you begin to see the big picture.

Here is a funny little video out right now encouraging consumers to contact the FDA and let them know you’d like your food to be labeled properly, alerting you if you’re buying something with GE or GM ingredients. I have no problem believing a majority of consumers will just continue down their blind pathway, buying a cart full of crap-tastic food and not thinking about the future consequences. I however would like to know what is going into my family’s body and would hope you do too.

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We didn’t just fall off the turnip truck yesterday nor is this our first visit to The Farm in Summertown, Tennessee. We sure got smacked with a healthy dose of vegan elitism though and I’m still reeling from it.

When The Farm, a hippie commune developed by a caravan of bus traveling hippies was originally established in the early 1970’s, veganism ruled. The commune is no longer as active or bound by the original ideals as it once was. The commune’s population boomed to about 1600 in its heyday but the growth was unsustainable. There weren’t enough jobs in the rural Tennessee area to support the communal residents and interest waned over time. About 160 people still live at the commune today, some new and some original residents but some have chosen to stick to what they know. We’ve never been given a hard time about our meat-eating habits when we stay at the farm but the woman running The Farm Store ruined that streak yesterday.

The Farm Store is a warm, cozy general store and central meeting spot for many who live on The Farm’s 1500 acre commune. It’s a place to meet up with friends, make new acquaintances, grab a snack or find that obscure natural food item you’ve been on the hunt for. In years past, we know we’ve been able to get a fresh plate lunch whipped up at the store’s counter. That’s why when we had an appointment to meet a documentary photographer there, we thought it would be a good opportunity to grab a bite to eat.

When I walked up to the counter I immediately noticed the blackboard menu, usually artistically written in several different colors of chalk and propped on the back wall of the store, was missing. I asked the woman (not the usual storekeeper we’ve befriended over the years) if she had a menu for the day. She just looked at me bright-eyed and laughed.

“We don’t have a menu here,” she quipped. “I didn’t make soup today but there is chili in the cooler that was left over from yesterday. There are also some pre-made black bean burgers and things in there too.”

Needless to say we were confused and disappointed and this woman didn’t help the situation. There was no namaste here. I resorted to poking through the frozen foods section, looking for anything we might be interested in microwaving for our lunch. Meanwhile the woman behind the counter  continued chortling away in her own blissful bubble.

“That’s just so funny,” she said, forking her own food on a plate behind the counter. “I think you are only the second person who has ever asked me for a menu.”

Sensing the pregnancy hormone rage beginning to ooze out of Homestead Hottie’s pores, I explained that we had stopped in for a wrap or sandwich a couple times before on previous visits to the farm 2 to 3 years ago.

“No, we’ve never served food here,” she continued. “I wish!”

At this point there was no holding back the pregnant lady. “I’ve definitely had a tuna sandwich or something here before,” Talina insisted.

“No, nope, not here,” the storekeeper shot back. “We’ve never served meat or fish or sandwiches here. This is only a vegan community and we only serve vegan food. You must have been visiting someplace else.”

Well then, we had certainly been told and the shopkeeper wasn’t going to stop telling us as long as we were in The Farm Store. Her vegan elitism attitude was ruling this roost and she was going to go ahead and mock us as the outsiders we are. It’s truly uncharacteristic of anyone at The Farm. We’ve never encountered this type of attitude from the dozens and dozens of commune residents we’ve met and befriended over the years.  They’re all so accepting with the exception of this woman.

There were no usual questions about where we were from or why we were there, just snide and snippy vegan elitism. Yet, sitting in a woven basket marked clearance on one of the store tables were two bottles of pancake syrup. The main ingredients in both: high-fructose corn syrup. That made me chuckle a bit on our way out the door, in search of someone else to serve us lunch. “How’s that for irony,” I thought to myself.

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This time of year, many families are probably happily awaiting their tax return. In years past, the return has always felt like a surprising windfall, giving us a little boost of spending money to pick up a large item or two we normally wouldn’t have the funds for. Last year we used some tax return money to finally purchase an HDTV after using our two little 19″, no frills TVs for more than 10 years. We also completed our Darling Daughter’s furniture set in her bedroom. The most beneficial purchase we made though was buying ourselves real food security.

Last year we made the move to go more local and organic with our food. I’ve discussed the benefits before but we’ve never made it a priority until last year when we finally decided we just needed to bite the bullet. Luckily we ran across the Cannon family and their local meat operation called Stonewall Farm.  The Cannon’s raise all natural grass-fed beef, pork, lamb and poultry on several acres between Evansville and Mt. Vernon.  We had initially thought about buying a half-share of a cow or other large meat animal with another farmer but our major dilemma was we didn’t know how we were going to store all that meat.  But once we learned about the Cannon’s meat CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program, we were hooked.

The beauty of the Stonewall Farm CSA program is that you can buy several different sized shares of all natural, grass-fed meat products for six months or a year and it is delivered to you monthly.  You don’t have to fret about finding space in the deep freeze for a year’s worth of meat!  We purchased a full year family share of meat, along with an additional poultry share (we love our chicken) and an additional share of eggs every month.

Condensed Animal Feed Operations or CAFO's are horrible sites to see and smell. We saw endless vistas of CAFO driving through the nation's midsection and it was a true wakeup call for us about where our meat comes from.

While we were kicking around the prices, it initially seemed very expensive and maybe even frivolous.  Then, we kept reminding ourselves of the horrific feed lots we saw as we drove across America’s Heartland to our new home in Indiana a couple years ago.  Once we tallied up the environmental damage along with the damage we were doing to our health by purchasing CAFO meat (Concentrated Animal Feed Operation) at the local supermarket, we knew it was the right investment to make.

We’ve reaped the rewards of a year’s worth of all-natural, grass-fed meat products and it has been nothing short of spectacular.  Each month we get to see Keith and Jerlene Cannon, along with their children, as we pick up our monthly delivery.  We get to actually talk, laugh and ask questions of the farmers raising our food.  How many people can say that these days?  We have also visited the farm on several occasions, seeing our future food roaming about happily, well-fed and treated well.  That’s the kind of meat I want on my plate.  Not some phony, fatty meat injected with every antibiotic, hormone and preservative or flavor-enhancer that some lab junkie whipped up in a test tube.  All of the meat tastes amazing and is often far more flavorful and juicy than market bought goods.  The eggs are huge and have an incredible color that lets you know you’re getting their full offering of flavor and nutrients too.

If you’ve ever wondered how you can better use your money to make an investment in the future, food security is one of them.  Buy your food from local producers.  Keep the money in your community and learn how your food is produced.  It’s time Americans stop investing their hard-earned dollars on cheap, subsidized foods that don’t do any justice for their own community or their family’s overall health.  True, you are going to pay more but the benefits are so worth it.

Make sure to check out Stonewall Farm.  Several area natural food stores sell their products or you can order direct from them.  They also set up a booth at the Evansville Farmer’s Market when that’s in season.  Join their CSA program for 6 months or a year and help the Cannon’s help you.  Do me a favor, let them know Nathan Ryder sent you

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If you’re looking to become more self-sustaining, growing and preserving your own food is an excellent way to achieve that goal.  Not only is it probably one of the easiest ways to achieve your sustainability, it is also one of the cheapest.  For some reason, I had always imagined home canning to be a bygone era but reaching back I could vividly remember one of my Mom’s old high school friends canning her own jams and jellies frequently when I visited.  Maybe I thought, it’s not that far out of vogue.

As Homestead Hottie and I looked for more and more ways to make our life more green and self-sustaining, food preservation seemed to be a logical next step following our entry into growing some of our own food.  Home food preservation does take time but the end results are so worth it and will save you a ton of money in the long run.  You won’t have to rely on a run to the grocery store for a canned good but simply walk into your kitchen pantry.  Check out this video as I show you how we turned a bumper crop of green tomatoes into a half-dozen quart jars of our own, homemade pasta sauce.

If you didn’t catch my post on how to ripen or use all those end of season green tomatoes,  click here.