Who grows our food? with Tracy Bhalla

Eating Smart with Tracy Bhalla Who grows our food?

Now more than ever I would sincerely recommend that you shop locally as much as possible – that is to say Farmer’s markets, Farm shops (many have a small outlet on site), CSA’s (Community Supported Agriculture) where you usually sign up for a monthly box of whatever is in season, and local supermarkets that support local farmers.

I say “now more than ever” because in these COVID times it is the small businesses that will go under first. I would in fact always recommend buying produce and meat locally as (1) you know exactly where it came from and how it was raised, (2) you are reducing your carbon footprint significantly by doing so, and (3) it is SO much fresher and better tasting than food that has been transported half way round the world in refrigerated containers! There is a great site, www.localharvest.org where you can put in your zip code and it will give you the options in your area. When I put in 36106 it came up with 19 farms that you can buy produce from direct. That’s pretty awesome.

Some things, however, we cannot buy locally, be it because they are out of season where you live or just that the climate is not suited to that crop. The supermarket then is our only option. In that case, we are looking for one of two labels – “Fair Trade Certified” or ‘Responsibly Grown Farmworker Assured”, besides of course the USDA Organic symbol.

The two labels are from nonprofit certification programs which focus

on improving working conditions for farmworkers and raising agricultural standards internationally. They provide workers with up to date training on health and food safety regulations, including hygiene, proper handwashing, and sanitization. Workers are also trained to identify sexual harassment and what to do about it, advised on health and safety issues, including injury prevention, warm-up exercises and proper use of equipment.

Prior to being in these programs, workers feared speaking up about conditions and felt that they had to just keep their heads down and say nothing. Now they are trained to speak up and resolve issues, which ultimately makes them more productive and happier in their job; plus, the produce becomes more superior in quality because it is being treated with greater care and more hygienically. Farms that are certified by EFI (Equitable Food Initiative) or Fair-Trade USA are paid a premium for their products by retailers because they know the quality is high. This in itself should tell you something. For EFI certified produce that premium gets converted into a bonus on the farmworkers paychecks – another reason for them to do a good job and for you to be sure that you’re doing the right thing in buying their produce.

In addition to improving farmworkers conditions, EFI and Fair-Trade support lessening the environmental impacts of agriculture. For example, by reducing the amount of pesticides used and instead utilizing a variety of pest management systems instead. One example of this is introducing farm-friendly insects such as ladybugs, which eat some of the other pests that are dangerous to crops. Marigolds can be planted at the end of rows to deter unwanted insects (you can try that one at home!), Strips and boxes holding a liquid that attract and trap pests can be placed around perimeters (again, you can try this with a dilution of apple cider vinegar or even Coca Cola – they are attracted to the sugar!)

Other techniques to reduce the environmental impact include using rainwater reservoirs for irrigation, using drip irrigation systems, even using beneficial fungi to fight pathogens in the soil.

Their philosophy is to “change the hearts and minds (of people working in agriculture). It’s a matter of showing why people need to make the changes…and why treating the environment and the people better is actually good business.” Said Nathalie Marin-Gest, head of fresh goods at Fair Trade USA.

Costco consistently buys from certified farms like these – maybe that’s why I’ve always preferred their produce to that in most supermarkets??

Stay safe. Stay healthy.