As you watched the beautiful short film we showed at the beginning of this service, I’m sure many of you were struck, as I was, with the feeling that we simply must find a better balance the world’s eco system if we are to survive as a species.  And so we look for ways that each of us can contribute toward helping solve our dependence on fossil fuels by driving less, using less energy in our homes, and reusing instead of throwing out.  But this film also pointed out the loss of diversity we are experiencing globally, as the impact of human expansion and development impacts all life forms on the planet.   No where is this loss of diversity more apparent than in the loss of species and the varieties of crops grown around the world.  Now Thanksgiving approaches and with it come memories of a table so loaded with food that it resembled a ‘groaning board’ and that feeling of being so stuffed that one could hardly move.  But historically that is a far cry from the first Thanksgiving when the Pilgrims gave humble thanks for not starving.  They had been instructed by native Americans on how to grow corn, a local staple that would sustain them.  They were shown a way of living off the land, which honored the local crops and the lives of animals given to sustain them.  This reverence for the earth and all that live on it, so apparent then, is something we can continue today. 

 Barbara Kingsolver’s book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle  speaks directly to this. I slowly savored every pages of this book as I read about how to garden effectively without chemical pesticides, how to raise heirloom fruits, vegetables, and live stock; how to can and make homemade cheese; and about recipes that honor the seasons.  It is a culture that supports the small farming operations by helping to establish a market for their organic produce and grass fed sheep, cows, and pigs.  It is also a culture that preserves variety.    And while I understood and agreed with everything I read, I wondered how I could go about that here.  As it turned out one of my employees spent the better part of her childhood active in 4H, and she opened my eyes to what is possible for those wishing to establish a different relationship with the food that sustains them.

Beth lives on a farm not far from my office.  Her family raises sheep, pigs, beef and goats, all of which are finished on pasture.  And she was delighted that I wanted to buy from her family because every 4Her is dependent on finding a market for the animals they so carefully raise.  What makes their projects unique is that the emphasis is on the health and wellbeing of the animals and not on making a profit.  They just need to break even.  The icing on the cake was her assurance that they use a meat packer who has truly humane methods.  So I bought a half of a hog, which came back as chops, roasts, bacon and sausage for an average of $2.35/ lb., was delicious, had far less fat and far more omega 3’s than corn fed animals. Now I am waiting for the quarter beef I just bought.

    I am grateful for such an economical way of buying meat, which for me is always the most expensive part of my food budget.  But I am even more grateful that I can eat this meat and not feel guilty because I know that these animals were not in some awful confinement raising operation but were out in the Maryland pasture.  I know too that they were fed all the pumpkins Beth’s family could not sell, and that pumpkin is one of their favorite treats. I am grateful for finding a balance between the food I eat and the lives given to provide my nourishment.   And I know that this food came from Beth’s farm, from her labor and care.  It makes a difference.

 Beth also introduced me to the Brendezie family whose daughter sells eggs as her 4H project.  This little ten year old proudly sold me 3 dozen of the most beautiful cream, aqua, and pale green eggs I have ever seen.  And I thought eggs only came in brown and white.  And these chickens aren’t in some massive Perdue confinement-raising operation, stacked 3 deep in a cage, having first had their beaks rounded off so that they can no longer groom parasites off themselves.  They are free ranging in the yard, they have names, and they come when called if you have food for them. 

So I am grateful to find that I have much control over how and what my family eats than I would have thought possible. I am also grateful to Kingsolver’s book for reminding me about the seasonality of foods.  We have gotten away from reveling in the bounty of the present harvest, and used to having endless varieties of foods available all the time.  This is not nature’s way.  There is a gratitude that comes from planting, tending, and finally harvesting that is not felt when we simply pluck things off the grocery store shelf.   We lose the discipline of waiting and the anticipation of eating, which makes those fruits taste even sweeter, as well as the satisfaction of producing with our own labor.  Now I realize that not all of us can or want to farm and raise live stock, but we can have a more personal relationship with local growers and we can learn to preserve foods, like our ancestors did, so that they are still available long after the harvest.

This year I went to Lariland Farm and picked peaches and blackberries, and those that were not devoured immediately, because they were so sweet, I canned.  I had never canned before and I had some reservations.  But it was easy, and I cannot tell you how gratifying it is to look in my pantry and see the jars of beautiful golden peaches and blackberry preserves.  And each time we open a jar, I remember being out in those fields during the height of the summer, with the sun on my back, feeling totally at peace and one with the beauty and bounty of the harvest.  And I remember thinking, if this is as close to farming as I ever get it will do very nicely.

I asked Beth if she would be willing to give those who contact our office for more information, the names and phone numbers of 4Hers who would love your support.  She will be happy to do so.  Large agribusiness would have us believe that obtaining our foods from local growers is not feasible, but I find their position directly opposes my own experience.  Every time I made a connection for locally grown food, the gratitude I experienced from the growers was palpable.  They need buyers they can count on to know how much to plant, and what varieties we want to stimulate our palates.  You have no idea how many varieties of fruits and vegetables we no longer cultivate because they did not grow in uniform size and shape, were difficult to package, or were considered to labor intensive to harvest.  In South America alone, they used to cultivate over 4,000 different varieties of potatoes.  Native Indians used to grow over a dozen varieties of corn.  Local growers are happy to plant whatever they can grow in this area, if they perceive a desire for it.   And when you connect with local growers, you have the satisfaction of helping to support their way of life, of helping to sustain more varieties of foods, and of supporting more humane animal raising methods.   This for me is a much better balance.     

In a little while, we will be opening the service up for discussion, and would appreciate you sharing your experiences about the things you have been able to change to achieve a better balance in your lives.  My reflection today has been about food, but you may be focusing on other aspects, which are just as valid and for which you are grateful.  I would like to close my reflection with an excerpt from Camaris Parker-Rhodes.

The whole point of living is to become spiritually aware

in thinking, feeling, suffering, and doing.

It is not success so much that matters any more,

as becoming more deeply human-one

that is kinder, truer, more to be relied on

and less automatic in response.

• Directories & Resources

• Amazing Grazing Directory - www.futureharvestcasa.org/amazing.html

Lists grass-based farms in Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia that sell their products directly to consumers.  Find you local sources for steaks, ground beef, leg of lamb, sausage, bacon, eggs, smoked hams, roasting chickens, handmade cheeses, goats-milk fudge, cheese-stuffed pasta, Thanksgiving turkeys, Christmas geese, and more.

• Animalvegetablemiracle.com

Barbara Kingsolver’s website

 

• Edible Landscaping & Gardening — www.efn.org/~bsharvy/edible.html

 

• FoodRoutes - http://www.foodroutes.org/

National nonprofit dedicated to reintroducing Americans to their food

 

• Local Harvest - http://www.localharvest.org/

Enter your zip code to find local farms, farmers’ markets, restaurants, grocery stores and other sources of sustainable-grown produce, grass-fed meats, and many other goodies in your area.

• Slow Food International - http://www.slowfoodusa.org/

Focuses on saving rare breeds of live stock, such as heirloom turkeys, by getting more people interested in eating them and then contracting with farmers to raise them.

• The Seed Savers’ Exchange - http://www.seedsavers.org/

Seeds are living units.  Diane and Kent Whealy developed a network of 8,000 members who grow, save and exchange more than 11,000 varieties from their own gardening heritage.  The Seed Savers’ Yearbook makes seeds available to its members.

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