“Centralization and mass production equals standardization, or a lack of genetic diversity, because assembly lines in production plants cannot tolerate chickens or tomatoes or any other food products that vary in size or shape by more than a certain percentage.”
For this reason, we now have food that is genetically and chemically modified so that it “fits” both the consumers’ ideal and the needs of the production plants. Also, for this reason, we now get big, beautiful, perfectly sized and shaped, tasteless fruit and vegetables that are available anytime of the year – with big prices to go along.
I thought about this the other day while I was out picking wild black raspberries in the field. Their taste was unlike anything you can buy in the grocery store. And cost was nowhere near the $3.99 the local grocery store charges for a small container holding just a few ounces. The only cost involved for my black raspberries was 30 minutes of fresh air, sunshine, and a nice, peaceful walk with my two dogs and goat. Okay, and a few scratches from the berry bushes…
This made me ponder of all the possibilities my little 14 acre farm has to offer. I can very easily have enough chickens to feed my household two chickens per week, all year round and provide enough eggs to supply us, and sell or give away. The 25 chickens I have now are completely free-range, and have so much available to eat they don’t even require supplemented food during the warmer months.
We are also able to hunt deer and rabbit to supplement our meat supply. I also have a pond and stream that supplies various fishes and large, lovely crayfish on occasion. The front yard contains a patch of wild garlic that I have just harvested and hung up to dry. I have a 6 acre hay field that I could cut for hay, provided I had the equipment. I have wild strawberries in the early spring. I could milk my goat and make cheese!
I live in the fourth largest Amish community in the United States, and I often wonder how much of their own food they produce for themselves, and how many other people are able to produce the majority of their family’s food on their land. Does anyone out there produce the majority of their family’s food? And if so, what kinds of crops / food are you producing?
