Today's mail contained a welcome and pleasant surprise. A small inkjet printed brochure, list, and subscription slip. It invited me to look into joining the local CSA.
No, the CSA is not the Confederate States of America. Well, it was, but today those initials stand for Community Supported Agriculture and it is yet another small thing you can do to move your life closer to sustainability without having to give up your nice lifestyle.
If you want to look into CSAs for yourself, I would direct you to The Land Stewardship Project which has a nice page on CSAs that I used to make initial contact with my local CSA.
But, in brief, the CSA movement actually began in Japan as a reaction to the growth of commercial farming driving the small farmer out of business. Now, make no mistake, despite being a liberal and being into renewable energy and concerned about peak oil and global warming, I remain basically supportive of the idea of capitalism and free markets. I simply believe that it is incumbent upon consumers to do more than simply selected the cheapest good, because price is not the only component of cost. If a large corporate farm is only profitable because it adds pesticides and herbicides to the soil in quantities that find their way into the drinking water, then that cost will be borne in the future. I'd rather pay a little now and avoid that future cost.
The basic idea is that you "subscribe" to the harvest of a single local farm. They use your money to plant and grow the food. In return you get a share of the harvest every week for the harvest season. My CSA offers a weekly crop share from late June through October (Minnesota has great soil but a relatively short season!) for $475 for the year. Because it is just my wife and I, we buy a half share for $275.
There is risk. We run the risk any farmer runs that there will be hail damage or a locust swarm or a drought or a flood or any other threat to the crops.
But the benefits, oh! The benefits!
- Fresh fruits and vegetables, usually less than 2 days since being picked. Nutrients and flavor are at a maximum. Much better than anything you can get in the finest grocery store. Anyone who has plucked a green bean off the vine and eaten it there will know what I am talking about.
- Lower cost. A week's worth of fruit and vegetables for 2-3 people every week for 10-14 weeks for (in my case) $275.
- More profit for the farmer. The farmer doesn't borrow from a bank to do the planting. The farmer doesn't risk his/her own money (or risks less than he/she would in any other scenario). The farmer sells the crop at a higher price direct to the consumer than he would get at a commodities market or from a commercial food processor or buyer.
- Sustainable farming. Almost all CSAs use organic farming methods. Be sure to check on this if it is important to you. Very few use any synthetic pesticides or herbicides, but some will use manufactured fertilizers. Personally, I don't object to that, but you may so you should do your homework.
- Lower energy use. The average piece of food in your local megamart has traveled 1500 miles to get to you. Your CSA-purchased food might travel as little as a few miles. In my case, 2 miles, to get to my home from where it will be harvested.
- Better health. If you have a week's worth of fresh produce, you are more likely to eat healthy whole foods instead of an e. coli burger on a blood sugar spiker bun.
- Greater happiness. I know, I know. Touchy-feely buncha tree-hugging hippie crap, right? Well, since I started cooking as a serious hobby I have found great pleasure in spending fifteen minutes hand kneading a bread dough and even greater pleasure in eating the results fresh from an oven. I have taken up pickling, home freezing (more to it than you'd think), dehydrating, tomato sauce making, and I may take up canning (jar-ing really). These simple activities are surprisingly rewarding. They make me happy.
I am not a vegan or vegetarian personally. Most CSAs only offer vegetables and fruits. Although if you search, there are CSAs that offer meat products. Everything I said about the energy costs of food go double for meats. If you eat meat and can get it butchered at the point it was raised, you are doing a lot of good. Although the dedicated vegans will tell you that you would do a lot more good if you just gave meat up.
They aren't wrong. Although they do ignore the fact that cattle can graze on land that cannot be used for any direct human-consumed crops. In that lone sense cattle increase food production. But the amount of land that can be used for other purposes that is given over to cattle dwarfs that effect.
What I'm getting:
Beans (5 varieties)
Beets (3 varieties)
Broccoli (3 varieties)
Brussels Sprouts
Cabbage (3 varieties)
Carrots (5 varieties)
Corn (4 varieties)
Cucumbers (3 varieties)
Eggplant (2 varieties)
Basil/Sage/Dill/Oregano/Thyme/Parsley/Cilantro
Kohlrabi
Leeks
Lettuce (4 varieties)
Melons (5 varieties)
Onions (5 varieties)
Snap Peas (2 varieties)
Peppers (5 varieties)
Pac Choi (2 varieties)
Radishes (2 varieties)
Spinach (2 varieties)
Swiss Chard (2 varieties)
Tomatillios
Turnips
Tomatoes (8 varieties)
Watermelon (4 varieties)
Winter Squash (3 varieties)
Zucchini (4 varieties)
You can't beat it, really.
Look into CSAs as they really are a good idea. Even if you go right back to your megamart as soon as the season ends, you will still have done some good and been a bit greener.