Why We Need Local Farms and Gardens Instead of Industrialized Food

  Over the weekend, I went to a little store that had a grain mill in the back yard. There was a river that powered the grain mill. It was quite an experience. We came out of the store with white speckled grits, whole wheat bread flour, and yellow cornmeal. Everything that was milled there came from a nearby farm.
   Next door was a store that sold coffee beans and ground coffee. The coffee roaster was a couple of miles away, but the coffee beans were imported. I was hoping the coffee would have been locally grown, but it wasn't. I also learned a couple of weeks ago, that coffee beans are heavily sprayed with insecticides, but I didn't ask anyone if the coffee beans that I was going to buy were sprayed with insecticides. All I can do is pray over my food and trust that God will make it safe to eat.

Grain milled at Nora Mill Granary in GA.
We might not see these in the future as
industrialized farming takes over.

   This is just one example of why we should experiment and learn how to grow our own food. First of all, the art of milling is almost unknown to people today. We go to the store and buy our flour, without even really studying how it came to us in a 5 pound bag. We take it home and don't think twice about making a cake or a loaf of bread. It doesn't even enter our minds whether pesticides were used or not.
   Many, many years ago, I saw on television a show which depicted the activity of farmers using pesticides on wheat that was used to make flour with. I had a hard time thinking that if that were really true, then stores shouldn't sell that stuff. But stores do. And the FDA approves it, as well. Why? Because they don't have a choice. If we want to sell a name brand flour, there has to be enough room for a farm to provide that much wheat. Much of our food has been genetically engineered to make it stretch in order to make enough to feed everyone in this country who will buy the finished product, and that requires pesticides, insecticides, chemical fertilizers, and genetic engineering to make it work. But what would happen if these industrialized farms didn't do those things? Obviously, what they are growing wouldn't grow, for locusts would destroy them. Other insects and animals would come in and eat what was left. The food industry would go bankrupt and people would starve. What is the alternative, and could it possibly work?
    The alternative would work, but it would take a lot of time and effort. You see, we live in an industrialized culture, and for the alternative to work, we would have to humble ourselves as a people and go back to farming. The problem is, people who live in America today, are too prideful to be farmers. Farmers seem to be second class citizens in our society, but they are really the heroes.
   This whole problem goes back to our worldview. We want to continue in what we would call, 'progress'. We think of farming as a primitive skill, something people used to do in the olden days. People today do not want to do the hard work that was done on farming. While I appreciate many features of the Amish, I don't think we have to go that far back to have successful farming in America today. I think we have to realize what is going on in this country, behind the scenes to come out of the 'farming' mentality. We are deceived into thinking that progress is better. Leave the old methods behind. Farming is passe.
  One of the goals of our culture is to take the easy way out. We look for shortcuts. We try to get out of any difficulties instead of working through them. My dad used to say, of young men that were growing up in my generation, that they needed to go into the army. The army taught people to grow up. They learned that life is hard. There is no easy way out. Everyone has their share of difficulties that they need to work through.
  Farming and gardening are hard work, but the payoff is great! Organic gardening is even better. I believe the choices are simple; make life easy now, and pay off later, or, work hard and become skilled now, and enjoy the benefits that come as a result of hard work. The benefits of farming are that good, wholesome food is produced. It is food that will actually nourish our bodies. It will help us live longer and have more strength.
   According to the Juice Plus+ research, America is a very sick nation. Cancer, diabetes, and a host of other illnesses unknown to prior generations, at least in the prevalence of them. Even when I was a kid, cancer was rare. I never heard of diabetes until I got older.
   Americans aren't very healthy

(Did we think that they were?)

1. 80 million people have some form of heart disease. - National Heart Association

2. 1 in 3 women and 1 in 2 men will have cancer in his or her lifetime. - National Cancer Institute

3. Over 20 million children and adults have diabetes. - American Diabetes Association

4. 64% of adults are overweight - Center for Disease Control and Prevention

5. About 59% of adults do not engage in any vigorous leisure-time physical activity - Center for Disease Control and Prevention

6. Our national health care expenditures were 2 trillion in 2005 or $6,700 per person. - National Coalition on Health Care

Taken from the booklet The recipe for better health is as simple as 1-2-3.

   So, what is the answer? I think we need to get back to organic farming and gardening. Our health is at stake. We can't trust the decisions of the FDA as there are financial interests involved. The words 'food' and 'drug' and both in the title. Could there be a connection somewhere? I think so, especially since a lawyer for Monsanto (a corporation that promotes industrializing food and uses genetic engineering on food products) has also been the head of the FDA at times. How can the FDA stay in business and make big bucks? By not promoting good health and keeping people ignorant of the relationship of eating food lacking nourishment and sickness. So, the answer in one sense is simple; go back to organic gardening and farming. But it is not as simple as we wish. We have to learn how to garden and farm again. Learning is hard work. It will cost money to start out. We have to invest in something, if we believe in it. 

    This is the reason why we must go back to local farming, once again. Instead of big corporate, industrialized farms, which are intended to feed a whole nation, yet employ methods that are unsanitary, and unhealthful for us, we need more local farms. We are educated enough to know how we can work with issues such as companion planting and planting bug resistant crops among other plants. Cities can handle food on a small scale. Sure, our hamburgers won't taste like McDonald's. They will probably taste better! We need to come to our senses, for if we don't change our ways soon, we might not last much longer.

Wide Variety of Vegetables and Fruits

  I love the different types of vegetables and fruits, but what I really find fascinating is the variety in the particular plant or vegetable itself.
  For instance, I belong to an organic vegetable co-op and receive all kinds of beautiful vegetables and fruit every other week. We got these carrots that were different colors. One was a whitish yellow, while there was a purple one as well, as the orange ones. I ordered some carrot seeds that are dark-red. What a pretty vegetable dish these carrots would make.
  Peppers are interesting also. They come in different colors and flavors, as well as hot or sweet. I have always wanted to grow the type of pepper that comes in the box of pizza from Papa John's. The type of pepper is called 'pepperocini' and is a mildly hot pepper. I saw a jelly recipe using Scotch bonnet peppers, so I would like to try them as well. Right now, I have just planted a purple type of jalepeno pepper and will use it in the hot pepper jelly recipe that is equal to Chinese sweet and sour sauce.
   The strawberries are interesting too. I am going to grow three different colors of Alpine strawberries. One is white, another is deep red and one is yellow. When they get big enough, I will grow them hydroponically. Yes, there is a way to grow them organically, but I understand that this is a hard classification for gardeners who grow hydroponically, for if they are to be considered organic, they must be grown in soil. So, it will be an interesting experiment, if nothing else. All I ask is that everything grows and doesn't die off (or I don't kill the plants!).
   Corn comes in different types and colors as well. There is flint corn, which is used to make cornmeal and grits with. There is popcorn types of corn, and then the corn plant for eating. I am growing a flint corn that is colorful as well as large. I hope to see the plants grow and develop before the squirrels and raccoons get a hold of them!

Update on the Strawberry Plants or Learn From My Mistakes

    About two months ago, I started to grow some Alpine strawberry plants to go in a hydroponic garden that I have sitting in the garage. I have the little wool rock (or is it 'rock wool') to plant the seeds in, and a base I can put the rock wool squares in. I got some nice little strawberry plants growing, plus, I have a special plant food to use on them since there is no soil involved in growing these plants.
   The plants were doing ok, but they looked a little spindly, so I decided to put them outside during the day. I picked out a 'safe' place where they wouldn't get hurt by anything (or so I thought). I left them out though, one time, when it rained. Still not a big problem unless the rain is strong. The rain was strong and knocked over some of the rock wool squares. I lost a couple of tiny plants : (
   I brought the plants over to someone's house to babysit them while we were on vacation. When I got back, I could tell the plants were well taken care of and had grown. They had some exposure to sun, and looked healthy. We got them back into our house and a couple of days ago, I put them outside again. Again, I forgot about bringing them back into the house, and I am not sure what happened, but when I remembered to bring them in, a couple of the rock wool squares were knocked over again. Every time that happens, it seems like I lose a couple of plants. I need to take some more rock wool and seeds and find another base and just take into consideration the fact that I am going to lose some plants in the process.
   One more idea I have also. The Alpine strawberries that I am now growing are going to be white. Wouldn't it be cool to have a wide variety of colors for them? I am going to look around and see what other colors are available. I know there are deep red ones that I tried to grow one time, but they all died at an early age : (     I can look around again and see what is out there.