Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["TradingPostPaul" <tradingpost@riseup.net>]

On any market day, the Santa Fe farmers market may have 70-100 growers
offering local produce, and it's been a model of fresh food diversity and
smart marketing for fifty years.  I mention all this for one very
interesting reason: their prices are in line with ordinary supermarket
prices. If those growers believed they should charge more for organic or
locally grown fresh produce, they could certainly get the higher prices in
Santa Fe. Of course, folks can still pay twice as much at Whole Foods, if
it makes them feel better.

paul tradingpost@lobo.net
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10 Reasons to Buy Local Food
http://www.santafefarmersmarket.com/goodies/local/

   1.      Locally grown food tastes better.
          Food grown in your own community was probably picked within the
past day or two. It's crisp, sweet and loaded with flavor. Produce flown or
trucked in from California, Florida, Chile or Holland is, quite
understandably, much older. Several studies have shown that the average
distance food travels from farm to plate is 1,500 miles. In a week-long (or
more) delay from harvest to dinner table, sugars turn to starches, plant
cells shrink, and produce loses its vitality.

   2.      Local produce is better for you.
          A recent study showed that fresh produce loses nutrients quickly.
Food that is frozen or canned soon after harvest is actually more
nutritious than some "fresh" produce that has been on the truck or
supermarket shelf for a week. Locally grown food, purchased soon after
harvest, retains its nutrients. 

   3.      Local food preserves genetic diversity.
          In the modern industrial agricultural system, varieties are
chosen for their ability to ripen simultaneously and withstand harvesting
equipment; for a tough skin that can survive packing and shipping; and for
an ability to have a long shelf life in the store. Only a handful of hybrid
varieties of each fruit and vegetable meet those rigorous demands, so there
is little genetic diversity in the plants grown. Local farms, in contrast,
grow a huge number of varieties to provide a long season of harvest, an
array of eye-catching colors, and the best flavors. Many varieties are
heirlooms, passed down from generation to generation, because they taste
good. These old varieties contain genetic material from hundreds or even
thousands of years of human selection; they may someday provide the genes
needed to create varieties that will thrive in a changing climate.

   4.      Buying local promotes energy conservation.
          peppers 2004 Buying locally-grown foods decreases dependence on
petroleum, a non-renewable energy source. One-fifth of all petroleum used
in the United States is used in agriculture. Remember, the average distance
food travels in distribution is 1,500 miles. By buying local, you can
conserve the majority of energy used in shipping.

   5.      Local food supports local farm families.
          With fewer than 1 million Americans now claiming farming as their
primary occupation, farmers are a vanishing breed. And no wonder -
commodity prices are at historic lows, often below the cost of production.
The farmer now gets less than 10 cents of the retail food dollar. Local
farmers who sell direct to consumers cut out the middleman and get full
retail price for their food - which means farm families can afford to stay
on the farm, doing the work they love.

   6.      Local food builds community.
          When you buy direct from the farmer, you are re-establishing a
time-honored connection between the eater and the grower. Knowing the
farmers gives you insight into the seasons, the weather, and the miracle of
raising food. In many cases, it gives you access to a farm where your
children and grandchildren can go to learn about nature and agriculture.
Relationships built on understanding and trust can thrive. 

   7.      Local food preserves open space.
          turkey As the value of direct-marketed fruits and vegetables
increases, selling farmland for development becomes less likely. You have
probably enjoyed driving out into the country and appreciated the lush
fields of crops, the meadows full of wildflowers, the picturesque red
barns. That landscape will survive only as long as farms are financially
viable. When you buy locally grown food, you are doing something proactive
about preserving the agricultural landscape.

   8.      Local food keeps your taxes in check.
          Farms contribute more in taxes than they require in services,
whereas suburban development costs more than it generates in taxes,
according to several studies. On average, for every $1 in revenue raised by
residential development, governments must spend $1.17 on services, thus
requiring higher taxes of all taxpayers. For each dollar of revenue raised
by farm, forest, or open space, governments spend 0.34 cents on services.

   9.      Local food supports a clean environment and benefits wildlife.
          A well-managed family farm is a place where the resources of
fertile soil and clean water are valued. Good stewards of the land grow
cover crops to prevent erosion and replace nutrients used by their crops.
Cover crops also capture carbon emissions and help combat global warming.
According to some estimates, farmers who practice conservation tillage
could sequester 12-14% of the carbon emitted by vehicles and industry. In
addition, the habitat of a farm - the patchwork of fields, meadows, woods,
ponds and buildings - is the perfect environment for many beloved species
of wildlife, including bluebirds, killdeer, herons, bats, and rabbits.

  10.      Local food is about the future.
          By supporting local farmers today, you can help ensure that there
will be farms in your community tomorrow, and that future generations will
have access to nourishing, flavorful, and abundant food. And when you make
this choice, you cannot help but raise the consciousness of your friends
and family.

Grown by Neighbors

The Santa Fe Farmers Market is unique to other farmers markets in that the
products sold must be grown and produced within an extremely local region:
the 15 Northern New Mexico counties highlighted on the map. When you shop
at the Santa Fe Farmers Market, you are buying products Grown by Neighbors.