A Renegade Cowgirl

'Go Green' is all the buzz today; commonly seeing people shopping with their own recycled bags. It's a great idea and I'm sure it cuts down on the plastic in the landfills.

But going green means more than shopping bags and recycling. It's also about our food, how it's grown, where it comes from, how it's processed, how it gets here, etc.

I think most people realize that eating commercially processed, pesticide laced and preservative saturated food isn’t at all healthy and that eating organic is a much better choice.

Even Michelle Obama has set a good example by planting the first vegetable garden on White House grounds since Eleanor Roosevelt’s victory garden in World War II.

There are many Bed and Breakfasts, Restaurants, and Inns across the country that are simply growing herbs in their own organic gardens or buying them locally from organic growers.  There are subscription organic farms where you pay a membership and receive vegetables every week (whatever is in season), as well as farms that sell organically raised meat and fish. In some cases you can buy a membership (share) to an organic dairy farm, and then you’re allowed to purchase organic raw milk and cream, and other dairy products.

Of course, growing your own vegetables and fruits organically is nutritious, delicious, and rewarding, but not everyone has the space, the time, or the desire to grow their own food. You can shop at farmers markets and vegetable stands, and we’re also seeing well-stocked organic food sections in many of the larger grocery stores.

By buying organically grown local food, we are not only eating better, we’re bringing business to our local community. There is much less waste when you grow your own food, considering all the plastic packaging, and shipping on refrigerated trucks that burn thousands of gallons of fuel to transport it.

When you grow or buy local produce, the waste just goes in the compost pile! There is no plastic to recycle or throw out.

According to Barbara and Camille Kingsolver and Steven Hopp’s book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, “If every U.S. citizen ate just one meal a week (any meal) composed of locally and organically raised meats and produce, we would reduce our country’s oil consumption by over 1.1 million barrels of oil every week.”

Won’t you take the next step and eat more locally grown organic food?