Do you you like small, independent, unique, businesses? Vote for them! Buy the products they produce.
Vote with your what?
Three? Votes a day?
Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner.
Why not vote with your spoon?
Well, fork has 4 letters, so it looks nice and symmetric on a sticker with the vote, your and with.
It's also a quote from Wendell Berry via Michael Pollan.
Why not vote with your Mug?
Yeah, ok. You can vote with any implement, but the Mug is a great one. Coffee is one of those things that is now available in many different varieties and from many different places. It certainly ain't local to the US, but I would fear for my life, and sanity were I to suggest excluding coffee completely. Support Organic, Shade Grown, Fair Trade coffee and you will be voting for higher wages where the coffee came from, you will be voting for less destruction of the rain forest, and fewer chemicals entering the ecosystem. If you are ever thinking of trying the '100 mile diet,' people do make exceptions for a few "trade" items such as coffee, chocolate and spices. It is shipped from a long way away, but don't feel guilty; just consider and appreciate how fantastic that cup-o-joe tastes.
Is this just for rich foodie types?
NO! When you go shopping, buy whole unprocessed foods, cook for yourself, and you will save money! Anyone can do it.
Yeah, but organic stuff is expensive.
WE ARE PUTTING THESE FOODS INTO OUR BODIES! Above all, our personal health should be priority number one, but it seems like this priority has fallen by the wayside. As a society we really need to spend more money on quality food. Largely there has been a false cheapness to conventionally grown foods which makes organic, sustainable farming methods appear expensive.
LOOK AT THE TRUE COST OF FOOD! Consider the environmental impact of pesticides, fertilizers, and the detrimental effects on the health of workers who have to deal with these chemicals. How about the green peppers which have flown all the way from Argentina? That's a fair amount of jet fuel which we have to first pump out of the ground, refine, ship, store, and eventually fill the plane. It's a damn complex system, all to get stuff to our tables. Economies of scale allow such extravagant jet-setting peppers but the environment and our bodies suffer as a result.
Another reason we can get a really cheap twinkie or conventionally grown potato is that the corn that went into the twinkie and the pesticides on the potato were heavily subsidized by the government. (See the latest farm bill) You probably paid those subsidies in the form of taxes. Organic fruits and veggies are a small non-commodity niche of the market and therefore don't get much government attention or many subsidies. This is a very complex issue which I will write more about later. In the mean time, check out Michael Pollan's book 'Omnivore's Dilemma' for some insight into the perverse world of agricultural economics.
..and what the heck are you saving all your money for? Maybe spinners for your car while you slowly accumulate pesticides in your body?
Focus on the non processed, sustainably grown, foods. I'm talking about apples, beans, rice, broccoli, zucchini, and you can get a damn good deal of food at the supermarket cheaply.
What's a CSA?
CSA = Community Supported Agriculture. You buy a 'subscription' to a farm and get a box of produce every week. It's great for you because you get THE FRESHEST produce that can possibly be had. You might as well bite a tomato right off the vine. It's great for the farmer because they know they have someone to sell their produce to, and there is no middleman to jack up the price and skim off the farmer's profits.
So this is just about food huh?
NO! The philosophy of voting with your fork really extends to any aspect of capitalism. Though we don't think of it many times, every time we buy something we are in effect 'voting' for it and the system that produced that product.
What can I do today to vote with my fork?
Subscribe to a CSA or stop by a farmer's market. Buy local, sustainably grown produce. Not sure where your food came from? ASK!
-When you have breakfast eat some of your locally grown fruit from your CSA or stop by a diner instead of getting a McMuffin.
-When you have lunch, bypass that chain store and investigate what your neighborhood taco truck has to offer.
-When you have dinner, dig into your CSA box or the bag of veggies from the market. Cook it yourself and reap the financial and health benefits of fresh food.
Promote the Vote With Your Fork philosophy!
What is your vision for this movement?
By consuming local, sustainable products we can improve our health and safety, support our communities and reduce our impact on the environment.
Why is 'Local' so awesome?
YOU CAN'T OUTSOURCE LOCAL!
When you buy local food, it MUST be in-season, could not have traveled far, and will have positive local economic impacts.
What about genetically modified (GM) crops?
They are not necessarily evil. But currently, GM crops do not get nearly enough testing or social consideration. Until they do, they are NOT a good choice for food. There are a number of social problems associated with high technology foods, but profits and PR by large conglomerates grab media attention and obscure the true cost of GM products. See the work of Vandana Shiva to get an idea of how these crops can effect people. There is an interesting Interview with Vandana Shiva regarding cotton farmers and GM plants.
Europe dealt with GM crops by requiring that products must be specially labeled if they have been produced directly from genetically modified plants. The UK does not currently cultivate any GM crops.
What's the deal with 'Organic?'
When a food product claims to be organic, it must meet these particular certifications. In a nutshell, these certifications mean that the farmer has not used synthetic fertilizers or pesticides in the growing of the food. The soil where the food has grown has also been free of synthetic chemicals for a number of years (generally 3 years). There is also special fees, documentation and inspections which must be addressed in order for the farmer to maintain their organic certification.
Something that the Organic certification does not necessarily take into account is the farmer's consideration for the long term life of the land. Farmers that do care about the long term life of the land, generally use extensive crop rotation practices and cover crops integrated with grazing animals to maintain soil health. The farm should be able to sustain itself indefinitely with minimal inputs from outside the land.
It seems that the 'Organic' label is good for the anonymous transactions where you don't know where or who grew the tomato. But, if you know the farmer, and can see exactly where your tomato was plucked off the vine, it provides more reassurance of food quality than any certification can provide.
It is actually becoming common that a small farm operation will not adopt official 'Organic' certification due to cost, time requirements and the watering down of the 'Organic' certification. For example the folks at Sunrise Farm still care deeply about the way they grow food, and still follow organic principles, but, for a number of reasons have decided to let their official USDA 'Organic' certification lapse. Interactions with their customers are very important and the trust that has developed between the farmer and the eater has trumped the rubber stamp. Read about their thoughts on going beyond Organic.
Does this mean we can kick back and not worry if there is no Organic label? NO! Go talk to the people that grow your food. Make some new friends and develop a relationship with where your food comes from.
Is the stuff at safewayalbertsonswholefoodswalmarttraderjoes really 'Organic?'
Alright, if you're in a supermarket, and are buying organic produce, you probably have some goal in mind.
Question: why are you buying that organic tomato?
An 'organic' tomato will have fewer chemicals and fertilizers associated with it. Yes.
An 'organic' tomato will allow the farm hands to have a safer working environment. Yes.
An 'organic' tomato will be more closely monitored from pasture to your plate. Yes.
An 'organic' tomato tastes better. Wellllll, that's subjective, but I think so.
however,
Will an 'organic' tomato require fewer natural resources to grow? Not necessarily.
Will an 'organic' tomato help your local economy? Not necessarily.
That tomato is a great step in the right direction towards reducing chemicals going into your body and the environment. BUT, if that same tomato was trucked from south america, it is still having a significant negative impact on the environment in the form of fuel consumption. It is also doing very little for your local economy. It becomes very hard to apply the usual big business model of our food supply to a practice which should ideally conserve resources. There are some considerations which are just not captured by the 'Organic' label, but it will give you an assurance that some basic concerns are covered.
So, back to the question. Yes, the stuff at safewayalbertsonswholefoodswalmarttraderjoes is 'organic' and a good step in the right direction, but there are probably other food choices you can make which will have positive health benefits for you, AND the environment, AND socioeconomic benefits for your community. Psst. go to a farmer's market, join a CSA...
Can I fight suburban sprawl with my fork?
Darn right! Make the choices that enable small farmers to survive.
Here is a common scenario across the United States: There's a big city, with lots of people and jobs. But, not everyone can or wants to live right in the middle of the city for a multitude of reasons. And so, suburban developments spring up on the outskirts of the city. Frequently, the most appealing area for these developments are farmland. It's already pretty flat, there are very few trees to remove, it's right outside of the city and very easy for a developer to plunk down a grid and churn out the houses with ironic names. As soon as one development goes in, the land values crank up, and nearby farms which have been there for years suddenly find that they are sitting on very valuable real estate,... which they suddenly cannot afford. So, the developers offer those farmers a truckload of money to sell their land, and the sprawl continues.
Yes, everyone needs places to live, but we also need to preserve valuable farmland too. It is a tricky balance that relies a great deal on public policy.
So, to fight sprawl you can do a few things:
- Support an Agricultural Land Trust. Each case is different, but land trusts frequently help the farmers purchase development rights and keep the area zoned for agriculture which carries a reasonable tax rate.
- Support legislation that provides for affordable housing and mixed use dwellings. Allowing people to live in the same communities where they work and shop improves the quality of life, increases residents' sense of belonging, and reduces traffic congestion.
- Vote with your fork of course! You can keep your view of that beautiful field outside your window by buying from that farmer. If you like rural landscapes and farms, vote for them!
Can the world feed itself on small farms?
YES! They are actually more efficient than factory farms because more attention is paid to having multiple crops on a smaller area of land.
Here is a demonstration plot of corn with a planting of clover between the rows.
The clover is great because it will out compete weeds between the rows, it provides habitat for beneficial insects that will combat the corn pests, and after the corn is harvested, the same land is ready for grazing. Whoa! I can raise cows right where I previously had corn? Sure; and all the resulting cow poop will be great for next year's crop, and you don't have to shovel it out there.
How are small farms good for national security?
A large portion of the midwest is covered in the same species of corn,
soybean and potato. This is a disaster waiting to happen. If one tenacious
bug or plant disease finds a niche, we are screwed. Diverse farming, like
diverse investing will keep us secure in the long run.
Is becoming a vegetarian the solution?
Nope. However, as a population we should generally eat less meat because it is an energy intensive crop. We should keep in mind that there are places where grazing cattle happen to be the most efficient way to extract food and protein from the soil. For instance, strictly adhering to soybean and pineapple diet in Maine would be way more energy intensive than eating beef once in a while because your soy and pineapples need to be trucked across the country. So, a blanket denouncement of meat is not an entirely positive statement. Considering how the animal was treated before it became food is a good way to decide if you should eat meat.
Why is local, sustainably grown food less energy intensive?
Local food is by definition closer to your table. Therefore it takes less gas to transport.
Sustainably grown food does not use chemical fertilizers and pesticides. These components take energy to produce. Small scale, sustainable farms generally get fertilizer from cows on the farm which play an important role in the farm's ecosystem.
Is the Vote With Your Fork philosophy anti-globalism?
No! We are not living in a bubble, we need to interact with other counties. However, our country can't control the world in the process. Limiting the amount of products shipped a long way is great, but, there are some things that just don't grow places. Global trade, in and of itself, is not inherently bad. However, the current global trade agreements do not do a good job of preserving local economies, respecting the environment or upholding human rights.
That dashingly handsome fellow I saw just the other day? Why yes!
Oh, you were wondering about the stickers and such.... There are a handful of other groups I know of making 'vote with your fork' stuff. It's a matter of convergent inspiration, no affiliation. But I'm glad that others out there have the same philosophy! psst. I made my design in 2006, website going by 2007. Whatever.
