Contest Results: Meet a Farmer
It turns out that when I announced the “Meet a Farmer” contest and encouraged people to make a connection with their local food suppliers I overlooked the fact that many of the farmers themselves read Mark’s Daily Apple. So whether you took a picture of yourself and sent it in, or made the pilgrimage to a local farm or your town’s farmers’ market to grab a photo, you were entered to win the Primal prize.
Thanks to everyone that submitted a photo. I hope the experience was well worth the effort whether you won this contest or not. Speaking of…
The winner of this contest, chosen randomly, is MDA reader Luigi. Luigi is the one who snapped a photo with his free-range egg supplier, Tricia (the blonde woman with the bird).
The contest may be over but you can still meet and greet your local food suppliers. Make the effort if you haven’t already. I’m sure you’ll be glad you did.
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Posted By: Mark Sisson
I have always wanted to meet the farmers and ranchers who provide me with my food. Unfortunately, with my work schedule that hasn’t happened yet. I definitely intend to set some time away this spring to do some farm tours, it seems like an incredible experience to meet the farmers face to face.
I adore my farmer’s market here in Germany, talking to the farmers and getting to take home just-picked produce and just-layed eggs.
This is the most frustrating aspect of Primal living for me because, in my experience, the food at these farmer’s markets is more expensive. My wife isn’t Primal and I can’t convince to let us shop here and it’s very frustrating. I know that this is the best food I can but we just can’t afford it. Hopefully one day we can because there is one right near our house every weekend.
In the Lower Midwest, we have a number of CSA’s, coops and small farmers. What I find interesting is that several of them have been around for a while (7+ years) and they can make a living! It would seem that not just Grok’s are partaking in the wonders of fresh, organically grown vegetables and pastured meats. One farm in particular has about 350 varieties of vegetables. Variety I think is a key to adapting your lifestyle to eating Primal as most big box stores only offer one or two varieties of a handful of vegetables. They may have some organically grown…but from where is any one’s guess. We need to support these farmers, or Monsanto / Dow may take them all over!
Great photos!! I love buying local and supporting the local farms and also knowing I am doing me and my family right by eating good healthy fresh food. I sure will miss the ‘summer’ farmers markets that happen around here, got myself some good acorn and spaghetti squash last week.
I missed this contest, but I think I’ve won a prize anyway.
My favorite ( of my many ) local farmer’s market is on Sunday morning. For the past three weeks I’ve made it a habit to finish my shopping by stopping at the TLC Farms booth. ( Tastes Like Chicken Farms =p )
The first week I was new to Primal. Unfamiliar as I was with the world of meat I asked for some suggestions on cuts and deals.
The next week the woman at the booth remembered me. She’s an effortlessly friendly sort and we got to talking about farm practices, dietary beliefs, and the piglet she has running around her backyard ( She has to keep calling him “Bacon” to remind herself what’s coming! )
This week when I arrived at the booth she had pictures of her piglet and a dozen eggs ready for me. I think about this connection when I cook my eggs, it’s marvelous having that tie to where my food comes from.
There is so much beauty in knowing where our food comes from. I raised my twins vegan for the first 7 years of their life and even after the past 6 years of eating meat my daughter only liked bacon. She would eat meat but only after staring at it for a long time. Since meeting our farmer, Tara Firma Farms, she doesn’t stare anymore. She feels more connected to the food and is happy that the cows were happy.
Kids are sensitive, they are wise in a lot of ways and looking back at the last 6 years… she was right. Good food from good people just feels good and all those happy smiling faces put a fine point on that truth for me.
We met a farmer last week, although we didn’t post a picture. One thing I would like to share is that all of these farmers (including the one we met) seem to really like their jobs. They make it seem like physically demanding (in a good way), rewarding work. Contrast this with some of the factory chicken or corn farmers you see on Food Inc. or King Corn. Let’s just say the factory farmed animals aren’t the only ones suffering on the farm!
yay, I’m the 2nd picture with Brinkley Farms. I love my CSA and Brinkley Farms in North Carolina have been there for me over the past 2 years serving up pork, chicken, and heaps of veggies – I just made pumpkin soup with the pumpkin in that box.
Our community started holding a farmers market this summer, and it became the highlight of my week. The beef farmer remembered us after one week. She and my husband swapped recipes while I eyed up the neighboring vendor’s jars of local honey. The vegetables were so tasty, and in this case, they were much less expensive than the big box. I’m sad that it’s over for the season.
I didn’t get a chance to enter the contest, but I did get out and meet some new farmers recently. This past weekend was Harvest Fest in Pierce County WA, and I met the farmers who I use for a home delivered CSA, and a potential new pork supplier (totally happy with the one I have, but this farm offers some different options). I have to admit, it was kind of hard to oh and ahhh over the piglets, then turn around and buy a package of bacon. I didn’t want the piggies to hear me so I whisphered! Grok on!
Great contest! What better way to know where you food is coming from than actually meeting the farmers themselves. Small farms are a dying breed and need our support. Many times the small farmers are in it for the passion of farming and produce higher quality crops and meat. There are less likely to cut corners and take pride in their work. My uncle is a dairy farmer, so thankfully I have access to raw grass fed milk. Hopefully this contest will help to encourage people to make connections with their local farmers.
The contest got me thinking about the whole soil/cycle of life thing, and I chanced upon this quotation by Isaac Watts:
“Earth, thou great footstool of our God, who reigns on high;
thou fruitful source of all our raiment, life, and food;
our house, our parent, and our nurse.”
Watts was one of England’s great writers of hymns in the 18th century, although his career as a churchman got off to a rocky start. He was denied admission into both Oxford and Cambridge because he was a non-conformist. I think we can relate to that!
It’s great to see the different settings in which people interact with their farmers. I hope the masses realize and begin to appreciate that every one of us owes them so much.
All through my life I have heard disparaging remarks about farmers. Like it was some lowly profession.
I always find these remarks amazingly ignorant.
Now here comes this simple contest that has prompted many of those commenting here to find a local farmer themselves or express their appreciation of the people who grow our food. I’m sure that expressed appreciation is felt by the farmers with each encounter.
All of us who feel appreciated for the work we do have a greater incentive to keep producing high quality goods and/or service.
The many comments above have certainly warmed my heart and I’m not even a farmer.
For the past two years, we’ve enjoyed a weekly farm-fresh assortment of fruits and veggie from Abundant Harvest Organics in the California Central Valley, delivered to our neighborhood for a Saturday morning pickup. It took a while to learn how to consume the “big box” each week, but now we’d be so sad if we moved away from AHO. I also got a half-beef from a small Central Valley grass-fed cattle rancher this spring, and we’re loving it. Eggs come from one of several neighbors weekly. Grok on!
I failed to do this contest…our farmer’s market is not the greatest. But I do occationally get farm fresh eggs from a friend at work.
It’s nice to see all those smiling faces of farmers. They seem to be ‘down to earth’ and have perhaps one of the most intimate relations with our foods…since they raise them from the soil on up
I wish our CSA (Be Wise Ranch) still held annual farm tours. It was a great way to meet the people who grew our food and meet some of the other families who ate all that wonderful produce.
I loved these photos- I think it’s great for people to be involved with where their food comes from, and think it’s something everyone should do if possible, Primal or not!