The Farm 4,000 km Away

I am not even going to attempt to apologize for my extended absence from our little farm blog. Since spring, I have worked more hours, worked harder, gotten far dirtier, and slept better than I ever have in all my brief 31 years. So I worked... and worked... and worked. The blog got lost in there somewhere. My bad.

Back to the matter at hand, however. Organic. The big O. A lot of folks ask us why we don't certify when we could. It's a long story, and I will come back to it. I want you to read this quote from The Omnivore's Dilema first. I just came across it and it struck me as very relative to our province.

"...the organic label itself - like every other such label in the supermarket - is really just an imperfect substitute for direct observation of how a food is produced, a concession to the reality that most people in an industrial society haven't the time or the inclination to follow their food back to the farm, a farm which today is apt to be, on average, fifteen hundred miles away" pg. 136 - 137

In Nova Scotia, the average that your food travels is 4,000 km. That's pretty far. In fact, you could almost drive to Austin, Texas in that. The Ecology Action Centre recently released a report based on 2008 data that pegged the average food milage at that whopping high number. Now hopefully, since 2008 we as a province have been buying more local grub and have driven that number down, but that remains to be seen.

The point is, our farm is not 4,000 km away. I promise. Driving in to "the city" every Saturday morning would be far more painful if it involved multiple thousands of kilometres. It takes ninety minutes to drive from downtown Halifax to our driveway. Trust me, I do it a lot.

It is on that note that I want to challenge you. I don't want you to just buy in to my pitch at the Market and walk away satisfied that you are doing your part. You are, don't get me wrong. You are making a huge difference to both our farm and Nova Scotia agriculture as a whole. Every dollar you give to us and deny those grocery stores is a sort of vote. But, what I really want is for you to give up one hundred and eighty minutes and come see the farm that is growing your food. Come meet the people you never see (my infamous father-in-law) and look your food in the eye. See for a fact how it is raised, what it eats, what it doesn't eat, and how we treat them. I want you to come and ask to see their feed. Ask to see their water. Walk around with the cows and calves and experience it all for your self. 

This is where that organic thing comes in to play. I promised to tell you why we don't certify, but only on the condition that I get to tell you while we sit around my dinner table and I serve you coffee. And maybe a burger or steak. Maybe. The point is, please come see your food. Don't just buy into a label and walk away satisfied. Know your food. It doesn't come from 4,000 km away, it's just down the road.