Edible Stories & The Farming Life

Edible Stories

I am reading Edible Stories by Mark Kurlansky.  I haven't gotten too far but so far there is a man named Robert and he lost his memory along with his sense of taste and smell.  Aguesia is the loss of taste and Anosmia is the loss of sense of smell.  The book starts out with his leg stuck in a hole and a women who is supposedly his wife comes to get him.  He then starts to continue on with his life going to work and attending meetings.  We find out he is a food critic and has an important job by meeting up with business people from different restaurants.  I think he loses his job and starts distancing himself from Margaret.  I'm really confused of what is happening in this book because Robert is confused.  I think once I read more, I will find out more about his life and what happened.

The Farming Life

Today I attended the The Farming Life event at the Oshtemo Branch Library.  I didn't know what to expect at this little gathering but I left knowing more about the farming life.  There were three panelists that talked to us about their farming life and experiences.  Most of the people that attended this event seemed to be farmers.  There were also people that were interested in becoming a type of farmer and people that worked at the Food Co-op.  It ended up being a Q&A session with some interesting questions asked.  There were questions about the process of becoming organic certified for their crops.  I didn't know it was such a process because there has to be a third party certifier along with a list of guidelines from the certifier.  There are certain compost and organic sprays to use on your vegetables and fruits for it to be considered organic.  They talked about corporate farms using monocropping year after year which is different from the family farms.  Family farms try to rotate crops and build soil to nurture the crops and soil.  It is better to mix up what you plant each time because the soil is so used to growing the same plant.  

The panelists also talked about farms being passed down to family.  It is so much easier for families to keep their farm because the land is paid for and all they need to do is grow their crops.  These days there are many younger farmers who try to look for land and they are having a hard time because land is so expensive.  Local farms end up getting taken over by big corporate farms.  

There was a question that concerned inner-city kids and how kids can benefit from eating healthy.  It is so hard for low income families to eat healthy and get access to the fruits and vegetables they need.  there is something called CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) which helps low income single mothers get access to fruits and vegetables.  To help this, there is something called a Free Farm Stand which is free produce every sunday from May-August.  Another benefit is Snap Benefits which offers nutrition to low income families.  

I could go on and on about this because I wrote down so many notes but I will stop.  

The panelists farms':

- Blue Dog Family Farm

- Eaters Guild Farm

- Elder Fire Farm Arts

I would go onto their websites and browse around.  You might find some interesting facts!