Apples and Birds

Little Jack in the Tree
Originally uploaded by gfiorillo.

This weekend I was Agriculture Girl. I got to kick off the fall with the first of the apples at Terhune Farms in Princeton, then we mosey'd along to Griggstown Quail Farm for the Second Annual Slow Food All Bird Barbeque. Both were fun and had good food. (See little Jack Her-Chick enjoying his apple.) We got to see pheasants, turkeys, chickens, poussins, cows, goats, bunnies, quail, and guinea fowl.

But here is what was so sad about it. The family farm is a dying breed. Especially in New Jersey, where development has been encroaching on existing plots of land, one by one farms are shutting down. Like when people move into homes near a farm, then begin complaining about noise or smell. (Cause I expect it to smell like roses next to a farm)

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: BUY LOCAL, and seasonal if you can. Inevitably the food tastes better because it hasn't been grown to last through shipping across the country. You save precious resources (read: oil) because it's not traveling by tractor trailer for miles of highways. You are supporting the economy of your own community. And you can often find heritage and heirloom varieties that you will notice a difference in taste.

I could go on for pages on why supporting biodiversity is a good thing. I could get technical and start talking about genes, and superbugs and resistance. But I'll save those for another day. And I'll return the soapbox for now.