Asparagus to Zucchini and Back: The Power of Food

by Jean Marie Moffa
November 23, 2006

There is little that is more elemental to me than food. Everything seems to come down to it, in our lives, in one way or another. As a child, I grew up in a house where food was definitely love. Meal after meal after meal, it was nourishment, it was family, it was connection, it was warmth and goodness. It was hope, in the choosing and designing of the next meal, pouring over cookbooks and magazine articles. And it was the stuff of building character, for who really likes eating liver or smelts, or doing dishes? It didn't matter if we didn't like them--we learned how to be stronger than the foods and the dishes that we hated--and we were being groomed to be gracious guests and helpful family members, in the years to come. Food provided routines and rituals that gave structure to our days, and definition to our celebrations. Tensions between us would get ironed out at the table. Manners were taught. Even now, for my own family, dinner time together is one of the key listening and sharing times of our days.

Food goes well beyond all of these things, though. If we dive in deeper, and go to its source, there is an entirely different set of gifts that we get from our food rituals and choices.

A couple months ago, I took my daughters to a local organic farm--a CSA, or community supported agriculture farm. CSA farms create a partnership between the farmers and the consumers. Consumers buy shares of the farm in the early spring, providing the funds for the operation of the farm during the year, and then they receive a share of the produce from that farm, throughout that year. Harvested crops will vary from year to year, based upon the farmer's choices and the results of season's growing efforts, but both farmer and shareholder are in it together, sharing bounty and risk.

On our tour of the farm (www.gardenpatchfarm.com) we saw goats, chickens and ducks, and lots and lots of produce, out in the fields. We learned about the harvesting of eggs, milk and meat. We picked tomatoes and beans off the vines and tasted them right in the field. We saw an array of beautiful eggplants, and many types of peppers. While my daughters have seen vegetables growing in our own yard, they were noticeably impressed to see this farm, to see the large scale of the harvest. I could see their wonder at walking through the very fields that produced the vegetables they were eating, and meeting the farmer who grew them--a very different sense than their typical pass through the produce department at the grocery store.

Buying local, organic food--and becoming a partner in a CSA farm--these are small, but powerful steps. Here are some highlights as to why:

"Many production methods used in conventional agriculture degrade the land and our communities. Conventional agriculture is characterized by monocropping and mechanization practices that can lead to soil erosion, ground and surface water contamination, and high rates of pesticide and fertilizer use. Modern, mechanized agriculture also depends on the use of fossil fuels for all aspects of production, including fertilizer manufacturing and energy supply for tractor and farm implement use. The energy expended to get food from the farm gate to the grocery store, however, far exceeds the energy used on the farm. Food processing, packaging, transportation, and marketing eat up 75-85 percent of the energy used in the food system."

The Food System: A Guide, Geoff Tansey and Tony Worsley (1995)

Ironically, the decision to join a CSA--the decision to participate at such a fundamental level in the growing of your food--means that a lot about your food choices is not up to you at all--you pick up your share box, regardless of its contents. Don't know much about kale? You will learn. Wish you had more potatoes in this week's harvest basket? You ll be finding other solutions to your meal planning. And most members know that freezing or canning becomes important, with membership. How many beans can you really eat in a week, after all?

While joining a CSA is not for everyone, buying locally and organically most definitely can become something we all can do. The key, if you're starting out down this path, is not to expect to be able to do it all, every single day, but to make steps in the direction. One thing most definitely leads to another, and each small change you make will bring you--and our earth--significant benefits. Follow these guidelines, abbreviated from Lauri McKean's "10 Easy Steps to Incorporate More Local And Seasonal Food into Your Diet," From Asparagus to Zucchini: A Guide to Cooking Farm-Fresh Seasonal Produce, 3rd edition, Madison Area Community Supported Agriculture Coalition (2004):

1. Start slowly. Eating local and seasonal food often requires that you make some changes in food preparation, meal planning, and shopping.

2. Be conscious of the source of your food. When at the grocery store, check food labels for their origin and then check to see if there are any alternative products that have been produced closer to home.

3. Develop a connection to your food. One of the most basic ways to do this is to plant a garden, even if it is only one potted tomato plant sitting on the porch. Another option is to become connected to the people from whom you buy food, be they vendors at a farmers' market or CSA farmers.

4. Make a commitment that your food buying practices reflect your principles. Purchasing locally grown and seasonal foods can benefit the economy, the environment, and personal nutrition in many ways.

5. Be creative and flexible in your cooking. Seasonal cooking presents a culinary adventure through a wide world of vegetable dishes.

6. Plan for the winter--and do not despair when it arrives. You can learn to can, freeze and store food for the winter months. And if you are not in a position to do this, your local stores and co-ops are, and will have locally grown crops through most of the winter.

7. Learn how to substitute. This is a great way to incorporate unfamiliar foods into your diet while still enjoying your favorite dishes. Treat recipes as a starting point from which ideas can be generated, instead of something that must be followed exactly.

8. Buy fewer convenience foods. Convenience foods, in general, are more expensive, excessively packaged, and less fresh and nutritious than food you prepare at home. Additionally, the ingredients in these foods are rarely locally grown or organic.

9. Encourage your favorite restaurants to consider purchasing produce from local farmers. Farmer-restaurant cooperatives, which coordinate the supply and distribution of locally grown produce to restaurants, exist in various regions of the country. Look for--or develop--these in your area.

10. Enjoy it all. Enjoy the tastes, the challenge, the relationships you develop with producers, and the knowledge that you are doing something good for yourself and the earth.

It amazes me, still, how the most basic of everyday choices connect us to a greater, larger, more powerful good. Take on war, hunger, melting glaciers? Those can be very overwhelming topics. But in the daily choices, ah, yes, in the daily choices, we can make our way. We can participate in making changes for the planet in some very basic, simple steps. Get a few others to do the same, and we've got ourselves some grass-roots change--all this, with food.