My new favorite thing: The Farm Lady

I have become informed and I also have become disturbed. I have been learning, reading, listening, and absorbing all of this information about how our food is processed, how animals are treated in industrial farming, and how we have destroyed our food culture. And I decided that I needed to try and get myself out of the destructive food chain as much as possible.

I started looking for local farms and CSA (farm share programs - you give them money, they give you some of what they grow). In my research, I found localharvest.org - great resource with a lot of information on how to find local farms near you. As I wandered around the pages looking for farms and CSAs, I came across a farm that mentioned a delivery service that works with area farms. Genius! I call it "the Farm Lady", but it's actually called CT Farm Fresh Express. Now, before you go on about the carbon footprint of my delivery service...this is a local service that drives within the local area to pick up local products. None of the foods traveled 1500 miles just to get to them like in the grocery store. For me, it all balances out.

On to the good stuff: CT Farm Fresh Express is a wonderful company operating in the state of Connecticut. They work with tons of local farmers, bakeries, coffee roasters, etc. The farms are mostly organic farms using sustainable agricultural methods. They work with animal humane farms that treat these amazing creatures who will give their lives to fill our plate with the dignity and respect they deserve. These are small, wonderful farms. The products are fresh, delicious, and amazing. The difference in the food that comes from these places compared to what you purchase in a grocery store is astounding. It really opened my eyes to how far from real food our grocery stores have gone. It is quite sad really.

So, if you live in CT, I highly recommend giving them a try. Their store is open online from Friday through Tuesday's at noon and deliveries are every Friday. You can find them at http://www.ctfarmfreshstore.com/Default.asp If you are not in CT, use your resources and find those local farms, farmer's markets, and other local purveyors. The cost might be a little more for some things, but the quality and the karma are worth every penny!

Here are a few other things that I recommend:

• Read "In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto" by Michael Pollan (plus ANY of his other books)
• Watch Jamie Oliver's TED awards speech. I love his passion for the food revolution and fixing the food we are feeding our families, especially in schools.
• Watch Food, Inc. (if you can handle it - it may be traumatizing for some. Read about it if you can't watch it).
• Become informed and understand what is in your food, what industrialization is doing to our food and our health, and find a better way.