Sunday, August 1, 2010

Project Genesis: Eat Locally~Help the Planet, Help Yourself

photo by NASA: Save the Earth

Saturday mornings at Harbour Quay, we have a farmer's market, full of a rich variety of local produce, baked goods and arts and crafts. The setting, on the water, is lovely (except for the encroaching clearcut across the water - unsustainable logging drives me crazy!). Deep sea vessels find their way along this inlet to pick up our lumber and take it Away. Sadly, we are exporting a lot of jobs with the wood.

The atmosphere at the market is friendly, and carnival-like. A far lovelier experience than supermarket shopping, but it is so much more than that.


Our local market is under tents, while awaiting construction of a new improved site close by. I love the freshness, nutrition and flavor of locally grown produce. Love knowing it has not been tampered with, or loaded with chemicals and preservatives. Not genetically modified. Just fresh, nutritious, flavor-full whole foods, grown close to home. Like my grandma used to cook and eat.

It is better for us, but also better for the planet to eat locally.Transporting food over great distances adds to fossil fuel emmissions. A regional diet consumes 17 times less oil and gas than food shipped across the country. A local meal travels 66 times fewer food miles than imported foods in supermarkets. (source: The 100 Mile Diet by Alisa Smith and James MacKinnon)

We can enjoy fresher, healthier, tastier food while reducing our human impact on the planet.

There are always garden-fresh beautiful bouquets available for a song.


Produce just doesnt get any fresher than this. The flavor, compared to stuff picked green and "ripened" in trucks while it crosses the country, is unparalleled.



Spuds with a friendly smile. A lovely way to shop and feel good about supporting our local family farmers. Agro-business and multinationals have made it difficult for small farmers to survive. We can enjoy better nutrition, encourage sustainable farming, and reduce our carbon footprint, all at the same time. And have fun doing it!


Honey fresh from the hive. Our grandparents ate whole foods. I do believe there is a direct link between our consumption of processed foods full of chemicals and preservatives, hormones and antibiotics, and the rise in cancer in North America. The jury is still out on the effects of genetic modification. But messing with nature cant be a good thing. I believe in growing things the good old fashioned way, and raising our domestic animals and chickens humanely.


This Saturday there was even live music. The Marim-Bam-Buzz Band played their joyful marimbas and set all our toes to tapping. Everyone was smiling, and it was as much fun to me as a trip to the Mardi Gras.

Beautiful huge blueberries and beautiful smiles!

Climate change means we need to focus on meeting our needs locally. It is healthier for us and better for the planet. It helps preserve farmland. We can ask our local grocery stores to feature organic and local produce. Most are happy to meet customer demand. When the demand is there, business will respond.


This cool car was parked near the market.


The Rage's Farm booth is always knee-deep in customers. Their produce is fantastic.


These little girls looked so adorable!


I couldnt resist this glorious little sweater, fresh off the knitting needles, for my cousin's first grandchild. It has little red cars for buttons, too cute.

Our town has another market on the main road into town. Naesgaard's Farm Market has been around for decades and offers wonderful locally grown produce as well as starter plants for local gardens.

Their entry is so inviting. Being on the main road through town, they attract a lot of tourists on their way to the west coast. But we locals are happy they are there as well. A trip to both of these markets is highly enjoyable. Plus you come away feeling good about supporting them, with bags of the most lush and flavorful fruits and vegetables. It is win/win all around.


This week they had some old tractors on display and were fund-raising for Children's Hospital.


This is their cornfield, right beside the market.
Multinationals have created a system, and a dependency on that system, that works well for them and for their Bottom Line: Profit. But it doesnt work too well for humanity in general, or the planet. We can vote with our feet and support our local food producers. It's a vote for this planet, which is our home.


For many more great ideas on how to help Mother Earth, please go to

14 comments:

  1. Great post, Sherry, with all your pictures! Of course, we also shop at local farm markets when they're open for the season. Additionally, we buy fish fresh off the boats in Steveston. More taste for us, less use of the transport and refrigeration that's needed for supermarket food.

    And what can I say about that little cardigan..adorable. If it wasn't boiling hot, I'd love to dig out my knitting needles!

    Off to visit some more..

    Lynette

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  2. Oh Sherry!!! Your farmer's market is wonderful! We have a neighbor down the road from us that has a large garden and sets up a garden-stand every summer with yummy fresh produce! Unfortunately, our land is too heavily wooded to grow produce outdoors, so one of our dreams is to build a small greenhouse from recycled doors & windows.
    LOVED your post - joyous and green!

    :)
    Zuzu

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  3. I LOVE this post; I vote with my feet, too! I am originally from Maine, seeing where you live, makes me home sick! I want to go HOME~

    This was a wonderful post; You showed us how a small change can impact our world so much! I loved it~xXx

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  4. Food from the growers to our table...it doesn't get any better than that!

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  5. Your farmers market is huge. We have a small one but I still like to buy as much as possible there.
    I love the new buzzword
    'locavore' that has come out to describe people buying and eating locally.

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  6. I SO wish I had heard the name 'locavore' before I wrote this post!!!!! Hee hee. Perfect!

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  7. Sherry
    I love this post.. you know I've been meaning to make it to a local organic market every saturday since I moved house... one of these days!!

    Your pics and post may just tempt me to get moving next saturday.. thanks for the inspiration. xxx Julie

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  8. One of the main reasons for my wanting to move from here is to live in an environment that is sustained by local growers and an environmentally conscious community...both lacking around here.

    Thank you so much for joining us today.

    Suzan

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  9. It just tastes better when it's local, doesn't it?

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  10. We don't have a local farmer's market here, but we do have lots of farmers! A little weekend drive to visit friends and family leads me to numerous roadside stands and lots of delicious, local fruits and veggies. Local is always better for the environment and our bellies!

    I was out of town and didn't get to link up my post today, but I hope you'll drop by, I think you'll find it interesting. It's on one of the other food groups — fish!

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  11. Our farmers market is wonderful and I love going there on Sat. mornings. It's not as big as yours but it's a great meeting place and the produce and baked goods are fabulous! Great post, Thanks for sharing, Theresa

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  12. I have spent some time on the water of West Vancouver Island. I lived in Coupeville Whidbey Island for a time. What do you know of the White Buffalo? The spirit of that legend haunts me. I am the writer of the first comment by Jeane Mannings last post about Energy from the Vacuum.

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  13. Thank you all so much for stopping by. I have a print of the White Buffalo Woman on my wall! The legend haunts me as well. I believe a white buffalo calf was born a while ago in Manitoba, and another somewhere in the Lakota territories. Is this true? I do feel a transformation of consciousness is trying to happen, but the multinationals are holding on to the status quo with a death grip.......hopefully what needs to happen will happen and soon. I so related to what you wrote on Jeane's site. Keep writing! Somehow, against all odds, we must keep hoping:)

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Thank you so much for visiting. I appreciate it and will return your visit soon.