Time to Occupy Our Food Supply

When put that way- that 90% of our food is coming from such a small group of corporations- it only further empowers me! Truly, no other political action feels as radical as growing my own food at this point in time.

I belong to a neighborhood group in Altadena, CA that shares and trades excess abundance from our gardens and fruit trees. Via an email group and monthly swaps in a local park, we share all kinds of produce, seeds, eggs, and nuts. It is an amazing group! We also have very low cost classes throughout the year on things like canning, tree grafting, seed saving, etc. Check us out at www.ripealtadena.com

In addition to growing many of the vegetables that my family eats, I belong to a group of local gardeners that share their abundance. Through an email list and a monthly park swap we share what our gardens are producing in excess. From my neighbor gardeners I have received everything from bags of citrus, countless greens and veggies, nuts, eggs, seeds, seedlings, you name it. Google RIPE Altadena if you want to check it out.

We have a steer. Granted he's part of a 4H project and we're raising him more or less like any farmer with a lot of grain in addition to his pasture, but he has pasture unlike a lot of cattle out here.

And he grazes our land followed by the chickens who scratch through his waste looking for bugs and the nutrition he leaves behind. So instead of patties on the pasture, it is all spread out and quickly deteriorates.

And that feeds the pasture so in a month, when he is put back on that paddock, the grass will be green and fresh and healthy to feed him some more.

I never knew you could feel so good about food.

This post caught my eye because it reminded me of a blog post I wrote last year called "De-Centralize Your Food System". Same idea. We can totally re-empower ourselves and lift the veil of opacity that the mainstream food system is hiding behind!

http://www.maggiehollinbeck.com/2011/03/de-centralize-your-food-system/

(Oh...and this one too: http://www.maggiehollinbeck.com/2011/03/its-okay-to-get-mad-and-3-ways-t... )

I am much more conscious of waste these days. And using a fraction of the meat I used to use. And I make all my own bread. This year my kitchen garden is the most ambitious I've ever attempted with plans for preserving and root cellar storage this winter. Partly it's about conserving resources & learning to be more economical, but honestly, it's about the quality of the produce and the pleasure I get from the process. It's much more satisfying to learn about growing and preserving food than it is to buy a bunch of crap at the grocery store....

Thank you for all your hard work - Punk Domestics is an enormously valuable resource!

I buy local whenever I can! And I NEVER shop at Walmart and I try to avoid the rest of the big box stores and chains too.

I just found you! Love your site and this topic :-)

We grow as many veggies as we can on our 1/8 acre, keep laying hens and bees, buy local and organic where possible, are learning how to preserve our own food (canning, dehydrating and freezing), saving seeds from the garden and purchasing what we can't save either locally or through heirloom companies. We're also learning how to buy in bulk and cook more from scratch. We started down this path just a couple of years ago, it's been a slow progression and we still have so much to learn, but our resolve gets stronger and stronger every day. Our food systems terrify me. While it can seem very overwhelming at times, I try my best to remember that every small step counts!

I've been pushing my family towards healthier food choices. My goal is to not have to go to a grocery store more than once a year or so. We have been slowly putting a raised bed garden in, have starting keeping chickens and rabbits for food, and have been thinking of going to a larger plot where we can grow more. We are growing more each year, going to Farmer's markets and buying local, organic foods, and trying to avoid the industrial food system as much as possible. I'd love to be self sufficient, but we've only been at this a year, and it's a process.

This day of action is a great idea. I'm working very hard to remove my family from the mainstream food system as much as possible and I will continue to do so until I am no longer afraid of the food we eat.

Grow your own! Until you can do that buy from real farmers who aren't out to hurt anybody for profit's sake. If you can find any who haven't been shut down by our benevolent government, that is.

I buy organic. Admittedly this has its own set of problems but I hope that I'm getting less of the GMOs and junk than I would from the industrial food chain.

We grow and can our own. We buy some food from local farmers. I wish this comprised more of our food than it currently does. I estimate this is only about 5-10% at present. I'd like to see it at 50%. Punk Domestics has been a great resource, BTW.

We raise our own goats for milk and cheese. We have not yet weaned ourselves from commercial dairy, though, as we've had some challenges. I hope this year or next we might be able to get more of our own and be self-sufficient in this at least.

Have to say that this is one of the nicest side effects of eating a local diet: my food dollars go into the hands of farmers, ranchers, bakers & sausage makers. All of whom I see on a regular basis, face to face. My money becomes their money: to keep farmland from development, to pay their bills, to trade it to other local artisans for bourbon, or pottery, or their daily bread. It's a good thing.

I have a yearly vegetable garden, which allows me to feed my family delicious, seasonal, and chemical-free foods. I patronize a local farmers market in the spring and summer, as well as a wintertime market, often buying locally produced meat, soap, fruits, and veggies.