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This year, for the first time, I was able to invest in community shared agriculture. I started in June/July, and it's shared between me and my roommate.
This year, for the first time, I was able to invest in community shared agriculture. I started in June/July, and it's shared between me and my roommate.
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Community shared agriculture (CSA, for a slightly unfortunate acronym) addresses the struggles faced by small farmers and sets out to minimize food waste by eliminating the middleman; the grocery store. Put differently, you pay the farm directly.
Community shared agriculture (CSA, for a slightly unfortunate acronym) addresses the struggles faced by small farmers and sets out to minimize food waste by eliminating the middleman; the grocery store. Put differently, you pay the farm directly.
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Farmers' markets are good for this, too! But the reason community shared agriculture works so well is because you don't just buy the final products. Instead, you invest in the farm by buying a "share" at the beginning of the growing season, and-
Farmers' markets are good for this, too! But the reason community shared agriculture works so well is because you don't just buy the final products. Instead, you invest in the farm by buying a "share" at the beginning of the growing season, and-
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-that ensures that the farm in question will have enough money to grow and farm all through harvest season. In return, you get a box of the veggies they're growing - local, seasonal, and outside of the grocery chains.
-that ensures that the farm in question will have enough money to grow and farm all through harvest season. In return, you get a box of the veggies they're growing - local, seasonal, and outside of the grocery chains.
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I love this setup for a number of reasons. One, I detest the Starbucking of regional cuisine; not just in the colonialist sense (although this is DEEPLY embedded into the entire question of seasonal and regional food) but also in an environmentalist sense.
I love this setup for a number of reasons. One, I detest the Starbucking of regional cuisine; not just in the colonialist sense (although this is DEEPLY embedded into the entire question of seasonal and regional food) but also in an environmentalist sense.
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Grocery stores and long-distance trucks mean you get the same tomatoes and the same strawberries year-round, and the cost of the gas, transit, and everything else that goes into those don't come to mind. A lot of those farms mistreat their workers, too!
Grocery stores and long-distance trucks mean you get the same tomatoes and the same strawberries year-round, and the cost of the gas, transit, and everything else that goes into those don't come to mind. A lot of those farms mistreat their workers, too!
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(A number of them are in California and other border states, and hire undocumented workers under the table precisely because they're cheaper.)
Meanwhile, especially in places like Ontario, the change of the seasons stops mattering to our food.
(A number of them are in California and other border states, and hire undocumented workers under the table precisely because they're cheaper.)
Meanwhile, especially in places like Ontario, the change of the seasons stops mattering to our food.
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As long as capitalist and colonialist structures keep ensuring that we have access to all the same food all the time, we don't have to worry about winter! Which is... well, great up until you really, really reckon with that cost, and that cost is catching up to us.
As long as capitalist and colonialist structures keep ensuring that we have access to all the same food all the time, we don't have to worry about winter! Which is... well, great up until you really, really reckon with that cost, and that cost is catching up to us.
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The other part of the farm-to-table chain that is deeply broken is the grocery stocking process. I worked in produce for a year, and the sheer amount of waste involved was awful. Sometimes we dealt with rot, yes. But even the ones that looked "ugly", we discarded.
The other part of the farm-to-table chain that is deeply broken is the grocery stocking process. I worked in produce for a year, and the sheer amount of waste involved was awful. Sometimes we dealt with rot, yes. But even the ones that looked "ugly", we discarded.
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A pepper that has gone a bit wilty and sad is actually a perfectly fine, functional pepper. Bruised pears aren't bad for you. Tomatoes with big misshapen lumps are just ugly! They taste fine!
A pepper that has gone a bit wilty and sad is actually a perfectly fine, functional pepper. Bruised pears aren't bad for you. Tomatoes with big misshapen lumps are just ugly! They taste fine!
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And because it was fresh produce, we couldn't donate it, and we weren't allowed to take it home either - so we just. Threw it all out.
And because it was fresh produce, we couldn't donate it, and we weren't allowed to take it home either - so we just. Threw it all out.
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And third, because grocery stores are buying from the same suppliers, outbreaks spread fast. Recently, there was an outbreak of salmonella in red, yellow, white and green onions in Canada. There are only a few large-scale suppliers, that meant NO onions for a while.
And third, because grocery stores are buying from the same suppliers, outbreaks spread fast. Recently, there was an outbreak of salmonella in red, yellow, white and green onions in Canada. There are only a few large-scale suppliers, that meant NO onions for a while.
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Buying directly from small, local farms helps with all three of these issues. Because you're eating seasonally, you're vibing with the pattern of the seasons instead of fighting it and withdrawing some of your impact from how food is shipped cross-continent.
Buying directly from small, local farms helps with all three of these issues. Because you're eating seasonally, you're vibing with the pattern of the seasons instead of fighting it and withdrawing some of your impact from how food is shipped cross-continent.
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Because you're getting produce essentially fresh from the ground and prepaid, you'll get the "weird" ones in with the rest of them; the farmers know which ones are and aren't edible! What they give you is fine, as long as you keep an eye on it afterwards.
Because you're getting produce essentially fresh from the ground and prepaid, you'll get the "weird" ones in with the rest of them; the farmers know which ones are and aren't edible! What they give you is fine, as long as you keep an eye on it afterwards.
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And because they're not the same people who supply the grocery stores - the massive wholesale distributors - you miss out on those big recall scares. I can eat my onions in peace, because i KNOW exactly where they've been.
And because they're not the same people who supply the grocery stores - the massive wholesale distributors - you miss out on those big recall scares. I can eat my onions in peace, because i KNOW exactly where they've been.
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There are, of course, drawbacks to the commshare box system. First of all, you don't choose what you get. Some farms have models where you can switch out certain veggies, get extras of others, etc. but you're still working with what they have.
There are, of course, drawbacks to the commshare box system. First of all, you don't choose what you get. Some farms have models where you can switch out certain veggies, get extras of others, etc. but you're still working with what they have.
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So if you're somebody with extensive produce/vegetable allergies or sensitivities, this probably isn't the most viable system for you. You're just as likely to get kale and arugula as you are squash and garlic. HOWEVER, I have managed to push my boundaries with-
So if you're somebody with extensive produce/vegetable allergies or sensitivities, this probably isn't the most viable system for you. You're just as likely to get kale and arugula as you are squash and garlic. HOWEVER, I have managed to push my boundaries with-
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-a lot of foods I didn't previously enjoy and find ways that I can cook them to be enjoyable. (For ex. I hate arugula, but apparently, in Japanese curry, it's /amazing/.) But that's for if it's a dislike issue, and if you have the spoons for that kind of experimentation
-a lot of foods I didn't previously enjoy and find ways that I can cook them to be enjoyable. (For ex. I hate arugula, but apparently, in Japanese curry, it's /amazing/.) But that's for if it's a dislike issue, and if you have the spoons for that kind of experimentation
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This also means sometimes you just don't have the vegetable you want. I've started learning how to lean into this - not depending on always having cauliflower around, for example, or how to substitute veggies - but it takes some workaround.
This also means sometimes you just don't have the vegetable you want. I've started learning how to lean into this - not depending on always having cauliflower around, for example, or how to substitute veggies - but it takes some workaround.
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It also, as you've probably inferred from the above, involves a LOT of cooking and kitchen prep. Me, I love kitchen prep. I adore getting this GIANT BATCH of food and chopping it all up and coming up with meals...
I also don't work outside the house.
It also, as you've probably inferred from the above, involves a LOT of cooking and kitchen prep. Me, I love kitchen prep. I adore getting this GIANT BATCH of food and chopping it all up and coming up with meals...
I also don't work outside the house.
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And I don't have major issues with my hands or legs that prevent me from going on the occasional "cooking bender". I enjoy the prep - but for folks with mobility issues, it can involve a lot of careful planning. That's where I doubly recommend doing this in-
And I don't have major issues with my hands or legs that prevent me from going on the occasional "cooking bender". I enjoy the prep - but for folks with mobility issues, it can involve a lot of careful planning. That's where I doubly recommend doing this in-
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-partnership with somebody else. Not only do you not get quite so drowned in vegetables, you have somebody to cook with you and help you turn "delicious-looking produce" into "edible foods". (You can eat a lot of it raw! but you know what I mean.)
-partnership with somebody else. Not only do you not get quite so drowned in vegetables, you have somebody to cook with you and help you turn "delicious-looking produce" into "edible foods". (You can eat a lot of it raw! but you know what I mean.)
