Homestead mailing list

[Gene GeRue <genegerue AT ruralize.com>]

On Mar 9, 2008, at 11:06 AM, Clansgian AT wmconnect.com wrote:

>  But I'm guessing that the most
> successful promoter of local foods is going to be grim necessity.   
> When that bowl of
> summer salad gets to be $12 due to the price of fuel and fertilizer  
> and the
> declining dollar, that space between the carport and the curb will  
> begin to look
> mighty like a garden spot.

I do hope you are prescient. My gut feeling is that family meal  
planners will merely buy lower-priced supermarket offerings. I cannot  
recall having ever bought any, but I presume that iceberg lettuce is  
less expensive than spinach.

Ironically, "eating beans" in our culture is considered a deprivation,  
but if more did eat beans, rice and whole wheat and other basic grains  
and vegetables, America's bulging bellies and burgeoning health bills  
would shrink.

Habits change slowly. If indeed we are entering times of perfect  
economic storm conditions, change might, might happen faster than  
usual. Change is inevitable and will happen. Gradually. As pain  
intensifies. Alas, least from parents doing productive research,  
planning and planting.