Going to a farmers market today? (Or ever?) Read this from Tom Philpott: “The local food economy in two charts.”
LET’S CHANGE OUR COMMUNITIES
by Alexandra Gabrielle
We need younger local farmers!
One way to boost the economy is to invest in our local agriculture. A 100 years ago everyone had a trade that their family was involved in, therefore, each comunity was composed of a butcher, baker, farmer, dairy, etc. Today our food comes from large coporate markets, where the produce is shipped from Chile and other comercial farms in poorer countries. A good deal of American produce does come from California, but it is not enough to fund the whole market. Great farmers’ markets take place throughout the country, but it woud be great if 70-90 percent of every states’ food supply came from local markets.
Now, in Europe the butcher, the baker, and the candle stick maker still widely exist, although this is changing with the introduction of cheaper cooperate markets like Aldi. With the economic downturn throughout the European Union (EU) and also here in the United States (U.S.), this is one issue that needs to be addressed. With the European debt crisis looking more grim by the day, it seems that major change needs to take place. I argued this in my last post. It appears that a part of this change is getting rid of corporations. Of course, doing this is going to take time and a different government than we currently have in place, but we have the power to start today.
For example, Amy Cortese writes, in her article “Buying Underwear, Along With the Whole Store“ for the New York Times, about a small community of Saranac Lake in the Adirondacks. When the communities main Ames department store went bankrupt they decided that, instead of letting Walmart come in and take over, to open up a community store. This took five years, but last spring they reached their $500,000 goal (shares for the store were bought by local residents) and last week opened their doors to the public.
Community owned stores are common in Europe, especially in Britain, and not altogether foreign to the U.S., but more community stores need to open across the country. One person who invested in the Adirondack community store is quoted by Amy Cortese stating that, “It drives me crazy when people criticize how our system works, but they don’t actually go out and try anything. This is a more authentic capitalism.”
I agree. We have the ability to change the system through our own consumption.
Many people complain that local stores are more expensive than the cooperate department stores. This, of cours,e is true and many of us, myself included, love shopping at name brand department stores, but as we all grow poorer, at least the 99 percent of us, we have less and less money to spend on luxurious items. My point is, if we don’t spend a little more money at our community bookstore, department stores, co-op markets, and others there will one day be no more locally owned shops in our towns. I find nothing more disgusting than the androgyny of the American landscape, covered with cooperate companies, every town looking more and more alike.
This is a huge problem that effects all of us. We find our lives vacant of human interaction, in a time when we are more closely connected than ever. Take, for example, my mom or my best friend. Both of them have told me on numerous occasions how hard it is to meet people and to find friends. This is reflected in the films and television programs we watch. They add no content to our lives. What happened to picking up a book and reading it with your family? By investing back into local markets and stores, owned by the communities themselves, we can destroy the hold corporations have on our lives. A community that can sustain itself is much better off than a community that is held hostage by corporate giants. I am not saying that all corporations are bad, but there needs to be a balance. I can’t help but feel that the economic problems that the world faces today begin with the communities themselves. There will always be big business and that is fine, but we need more small business and that means fewer corporations. So, therefore, my first step to change my environmental footprint and to help the economy is by buying local.
- Instead of going to Starbucks for a cup of coffee, go to a local coffee shop.
- Instead of buying produce at a grocery store, buy it from local farmers.
- Instead of buying ten cheap wasteful gifts, all of which are made in China, for your friends and family for Christmas, buy one more expensive gift that is made in the U.. or better yet locally.
- Go to local bookstore, not a Barnes and Noble but a small community one, and buy a book.
These are just some examples of what can be done to change our economy. We all need to realize the power we have in what we buy and where we buy it. I am also at fault, half my bedroom appliances are from Target, but by changing one purchase at a time, I strongly believe we can change the world.
I had a great idea a year ago when my ex-boyfriend and I went apple picking in upstate New York. While we were walking through the beautiful apple fields, I was shocked by the comments I heard coming from a groups of teenagers. Most of them, seemed ignorant to the work that was needed to make a apple farm possible. It hit me that the majority of Americans have no idea where their food comes from.
My parents had a vegetable graden when I was a child and I remember selling our produce at the local farmers markets. If every child had a chance to grow a vegetable garden or work on a farm the world would be different place. First, it would be great if students had to work on a farm for one summer. Lazy attitudes would change with the nessary manual labor and the students would leave the experience humbled and an active member of the community. This would ultimately change how they saw the world. For poorer communities this would be huge. Instead of working at a McDonalds or Starbucks, teenagers could work on a farm or at a local community store. This in itself would promote a feeling of oneness and people would interact with one another, be dependent on one anther, and I say, with confidence, that there would have be less crime.
Many may think that this is impossible or it already exists, but if we want have a choice, we better recreate our communities. Let’s face it. The government is not going to do it!
