Southern SOIL
Editorial Forget the ballot, vote with your fork! It’s that time again, leading up to November during a presidential election year. Everyone has an opinion on who MUST win in order for the world to be a better place. I’m not actually suggesting you forget the ballot … by all means, participate in the democratic process and make your voice heard. But hear me out for a minute.
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What if you could influence the major issues of the day without having to wait for an election cycle? What if you could, in effect, vote every single day for the kind of world you’d like to live in? What if you didn’t have to wait for politicians to fix the world’s problems? How is this possible? What decisions do we make every single day that could have that kind of an impact? An impact on hot-button issues like climate change, health care, social justice, immigration, animal welfare and the economy? Your food choices, the decisions you make every single day about where you shop and the kind of food you buy makes a dramatic impact on the world you live in. Concerned about climate change? Support your local farmers. Not only will it drastically reduce your carbon footprint, requiring your food to travel less than 100 miles instead of thousands of miles, but many local farmers are working hard to grow food using methods that are sustainable or even regenerative.
Small farms that embrace polyculture (as opposed to monoculture systems), incorporate agroforestry (integrating forests and pasture) and regenerative agriculture are building soils, sequestering carbon and contributing to lower greenhouse gasses. Concerned about your health? Support your local farmers. Farmers that are growing and producing food for their own families and their local communities are accountable directly to their customers. So, even if you choose to support a local farmer using conventional methods of agriculture, you are far less likely to encounter issues with E. Coli or Salmonella contamination when buying produce from a farmer who knows he or she will be seeing your smiling (or not smiling) face next week. Local farmers choosing to grow using organic or natural methods will provide you and your family with produce that has not been exposed to harsh chemical fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides that have been proven to contribute to many of our common chronic diseases like: obesity, diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Those that are raising animals for dairy, meat and/ or egg production who are using natural methods are not relying on the overuse of antibiotics which can lead to antibiotic-resistant superbugs, leaving humans without this vital line of defense. Concerned about illegal immigrants? Support your local farmers. By not shopping at the grocery store, you can most likely avoid buying products that were produced by taking advantage of illegal labor forces. Illegal
