- webranden
Know your Farmer and Buy Directly from Them– Organic Agriculture in Boise, Idaho
Our food production system in the United States is broken. We aggressively till the soil releasing carbon every year. We then fertilize the depleted soil so that a monocrop can grow in it year after year. Throughout the growing season we canvas our crops and fields with chemical herbicides and insecticides, killing the soils microorganisms. This is how traditional farming now works and, as a result, our soil has reached a breaking point and is dying. Our farmers make no money. Most importantly though, our food is now toxic with chemicals. Sadly, our United States government financially backs this toxic food production system.
Think about it. We do not keep chemicals in the pantry next to our food, nor do we spray our food to preserve it at home. Yet, industrial agriculture is spraying millions of tons of chemicals directly onto our food every single year. We then feed these chemicals to our children! If you cannot see the problem, you are blind.
Want things to change? Get to know your local farmers and buy their crops and seeds directly through Community Supported Agriculture (CSA).
Thousands of pounds of chemicals are not needed to produce food. Farmers do not have to be poor. Food can be healthy and nourishing. The answer is organic agriculture and the good news is that there are numerous organic farms right here in Boise, Idaho. Let’s support them!
Organic farms utilize minimal if any tilling, they avoid chemicals, they care deeply about the people they nourish as well as the soil that provides for them. By supporting farmers directly, we can offer farmers a living wage. Additionally, we can be assured that our food is chemical free, fresh, helping to build healthy soil, and a healthy planet.
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a direct relationship between food producers and consumers. Basically, consumers can pay a farmer for a share of their crops at the beginning of the year. Each week, or sometimes every other week (during growing seasons), consumers are rewarded with a bushel of fresh, delicious, and organic produce. Farm to table baby! The way things used to be. The way we desperately need to return to.
Want to grow your own organic food? Want seeds from crops that have thrived in Boise soils for generations? Then check out Snake River Seed Cooperative. They can provide you with seeds to grow your own food, on a residential and even farm scale. The name of the game is sustainability, regeneration, and being self-sufficient. Creating a rich seed bank, supports all of this.
Every town in the United States should be completely self-sufficient from a food production standpoint.
I do not want to depend on industrial farms hundreds or thousands of miles away. I can no longer trust these mega-farms. They produce empty food that is covered in chemicals. More importantly though, these farms are killing the environment, poisoning our fresh water, and turning soil into dirt.
In the 1960s LSD users were always told to “know their chemist” to assure they were actually purchasing and using the chemical they thought they were. In 2021, I now say, “know your farmer”. This will prevent you from feeding your family chemicals and supporting the destruction of our natural world.
Want to support a local CSA or purchase seeds? There are numerous in the Treasure Valley. This could be the best thing you do for your health all year. Access to healthy food is much more important for our population than access to healthcare.
Here are just a few.
Thank you to Brennan Henry Allsworth, seed farmer and producer at Snake River Seed Cooperative for educating me about CSAs and organic agriculture. This information is invaluable to everyone, but especially to those with children or chronic medical problems. Food is and will always be the most important medicine we consume.
Thanks for reading,
Bill Brandenburg, MD