Don't Like Big Agriculture
On the thread about NAFTA a few comments slid by about how agribusiness is not the same as farmers.
If any of you are really interested in doing something about supporting farmers over agribusiness here is something that might be of some interest.
If you can find a local co-op use them to avoid agribusiness. If you are in a spot like Kearney, NE check out a Hy-Vee, Sun Mart, or Walmart or any other local store that might be interested in having you as a long term customer. Explain to whomever will listen that you want to purchase Tillamook Creamery products.
My wife and I asked the people at the worker owned Hy-Vee store to stock Tillamook ExtraSharp Cheese. It took a while, but it looks like the supply line has stabilized. Other people here have benefited by our persistence. So, if they continue to by the products, as we move to Oregon, the locals here can continue to support: Tillamook County Creamery Association.
For most of you it's not even remotely local, but at least it is the right kind of place to support.
Comments
Many would be amazed
at how little room it takes to grow a plethora of vegetables.
I'm fortunate to live rural. I take full advantage of local producers here in southern Michigan. As a meat eater, my choice of free range, antibiotic free, pasture fed animals is a priority.
And I grow, can and freeze as much as I can. There's nothing better than knowing what you're eating.
I'm 100% behind co-op. Give a little take a little.
But please people, grow what you can when you can. If you can't, do a little search on the tubes for local grow co-ops.
Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.
Growing what you can, when you can, even just herbs, is
something that needs to be promoted, IMHO.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Farmers markets and farm stands, too!
Fresher and tastier than anything shipped in, and usually you can get some information about new ways to use them.
A good coop pulls a lot of things together for you, though, and does a lot of research on its products.
Farm factories may in for trouble. I've seen ads for
personal injury suits against Monsanto for cancer caused by RoundUp. I hope this is the beginning of the end for GMOs and the chemicals they depend upon.
"The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now do you begin to understand me?" ~Orwell, "1984"
In my neck of the woods...
...(SE Wisconsin)there is an employee-owned grocery chain - Woodman's, aka Woody's - and while they stock all the BigAg brands, at least as much of the shelf space carries local and small ag/co-op brands. Of course this is easier when (as of a few years ago - likely not the case today) you're at the largest retail grocery store by square footage in the United States (by that I mean largest store, not company-wide cumulative area. My local location was a little north of a quarter million square feet when it opened 20 years ago and has at least one addition since then.)
Of course we also have a Super MalWart in the area. Woody's pays their employees better, does profit sharing because, duhh, the employees are the owners and consistently beats* MalWart's prices across the board by about 10%.
*except chicken and beef where Woody's prices are a few percent higher - I think it's a supply chain thing...I dunno. Independent Hispanic markets to the rescue here - they tend to have good beef prices and crazy-great chicken prices.
Woody's also sued Clorox (bleach, cleaning products, Glad bags, etc.) because Woody's was selling their stuff for less than BigBoxes so Clorox stopped selling BigBox-packaging-sized product to Woody's and Woody's sued 'em. Clorox is a vast multi-national corporation and Woodman's has 16 stores so of course the FTC & courts sided with the bigger money of Clorox...but at least they tried.
Compensated Spokes Model for Big Poor.
There is also a group aimed at helping and supporting
family farms and family farmers named the American Farmland Trust that one might look into, as well as the nearest farm direct to consumer outfit, if any (here it is Farm Fresh to You).
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Finger hiccup, now converted into
a simple reminder to also remember local farmer's markets.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --