The year is 2035.
You wake up to start your day. Head to the refrigerator to grab your bottle of cockroach milk and pour some into your K-Pod cup of coffee that is really just … more cockroaches.
For breakfast you stop to have a bagel from Stardonald’s on the way to work riding on your government mandated electric scooter.
Meat and eggs are no longer available in the US ever since the Green New Deal 33.2 was enacted by Emperor AOC.
You are required to commute to work this year since you were found to be posting negative comments about your local mayor on Twittbok.
When you arrive home that night your groceries for the week have been delivered. No meat, no dairy, no eggs, no produce. Everything is in shiny plastic wrappers filled with highly processed food using the latest GMO laboratories.
Foods that were once made with seed oils are now made with bugs from the WEF conglomerates that started popping up back in 2022. You are also on several medications that have been mandated to ensure you are a productive member of society.
Then you wake up.
What a terrible nightmare!
However, this nightmare can become reality. It’s time we fought back against Big Food and Big Government by taking control of our food chain. How? I’m glad you asked! I’ll show you step by step how to source your own food locally.
Before we begin, I wanted to let you know that we’re offering flat rate shipping of $8 for all orders over $35! This is a limited time offer that will end IN TWO DAYS.
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Take Control of Your Food Chain
In grade school we learned about the food chain, it was a sequence in ecology that transferred matter and energy in the form of food from organism to organism.
There is a food chain for humans and it has changed rapidly in recent decades. Today, most people don’t even think about where the food they are eating comes from. Many don’t realize that most food on the grocery store shelves is still grown by a farmer.
In the old days, almost everyone was a farmer.
The industrial revolution brought about massive change where people could make money by working for someone else in a factory. With more and more people at work in a factory, they weren’t able to grow their own food and raise their animals. This is where the idea of massive farming and food supply shifted from small and local to big and corporate.
Along with this new food supply chain system, the global market was opened which allows us to eat fresh bananas in the dead of winter. We are also blessed with the luxury of being able to drive our vehicles to a place called Costco and pick up giant bags of frozen blueberries, strawberries, and just about any type of food you could ever want.
In a perfect world, this system is the best because it allows us to get access to a wide variety of fresh(er) food year round. It allows farmers to focus on growing crops and animals that thrive in their location. In a global market, this is the most efficient way. However, with all of the advancement in production with our new global food supply chain, there have been many compromises, cost increases, and negative affects on our environment. Surprise!
Nowadays, it doesn’t make sense for a family to stay home and grow all of the food they need for the entire year. If everyone had to grow their own food, many people would not be able to enjoy fruits and crops that aren’t available in their location due to climate or soil conditions.
The food chain we have today works because it’s easy for consumers and profitable for large corporations. Noone has time to grow their own food anymore, and even if they did, most people wouldn’t because… well… it’s hard. The amount of work it takes to grow edible food from a seed or harvest beef from a cow is daunting, startup and operating costs are high, and regulations are thick.
It’s obvious why most people today aren’t growing their own food for their families anymore. You may not be able to grow your own food, but you can at least start sourcing your food from local farmers. There are several reasons why you should start looking for local sources of food, I’ll cover most of them here.
Rising Food Costs at the Grocery Stores
Unless you’ve been living in an off grid cabin in the upper peninsula eating MRE’s for the past three years, you’ve noticed the price of food at the grocery stores, high!
Here is the CPI data for the costs of food increases since 2020. (Source)
Eggs 40%
Poultry 25%
Fats and Oils 24%
Beef and Pork 23%
Dairy 20%
Fresh Fruit and Vegetables 11.6%
There are many factors that have led to the increase in the price of food. Some may say that it's by design. Government policies in the wake of Covid have definitely caused prices to increase due to massive money printing, lockdowns, and giving people money to stay home instead of going to work. The war in Ukraine and other foreign policies haven’t helped.
Startup costs for farming operations are higher than ever. The cost to fence an acre of land for raising cows is anywhere from $10k-$27k. The cost of animal feed has risen almost 30% in the last 3 years. Everything required to set up a food processing or growing operation has pretty much doubled in cost. Diesel fuel costs have risen causing the transportation of food to cost more than it used to.
Adding fuel to the fire is large food processing companies are putting the squeeze on farmers and ranchers offering low prices for bulk produce and meat because of the decrease in the amount of food processing plants across the country. You can read more about the meat packing companies in a great article by BowTied Rancher. (Link)
Finding food from a local source (a Farmer) allows you and the producer to cut out the middleman. Which will not only reduce your cost, it will support someone who is out there every day trying to make a difference by producing food. The small farmers are struggling right now due to the reasons I just listed. If you find a good local farmer that you can trust, support them (with money.)
Chemical Free Food
Another great reason to find a local source of food is trust. A good friend on twitter wrote a great thread on this topic as I was writing this article yesterday. (Source)
Since you are reading this article right now, I assume that you are tuned into the amount of chemicals and pesticides that our food chain has been compromised with. Finding food that is clean from pesticides and GMO products is a tall task in today’s world.
If you’re like me, you question everything. You may have asked yourself, is this apple really organic? Sure it says it on the sticker, but how do you know?
To be honest, we really don’t know. The only way to truly know is to know the farmer who is producing the food. I’ll show you how.
Most fruits, vegetables, and other food items are imported from foreign countries where regulations are much more lax or even non-existent. Sure there are USDA standards for organic operations that export food into our country. (Source) But do you really trust the USDA to monitor farming operations in Central America? In my opinion, the farther you get from the source of your food, the farther you are from a trustworthy source.
Not only do you want to find food that is not riddled with pesticides, you also need to know how foreign countries fertilize their crops. In places like Mexico, farmers have been using raw sewage straight from Mexico City to irrigate and fertilize their crops. Many vegetables that you eat on your dinner table from the grocery store could be coming from a farm like this. (Source). You might be thinking “Yeah, but that only happens in third world countries right?” Wrong, a farm in Michigan was caught using untreated human waste for fertilization of their produce just last year. (Source)
Unsustainably Grown Meat and Produce
The last big reason it’s important to source your food locally from a small farmer is sustainability. Large agricultural operations for meat and produce are getting more and more unsustainable. There’s not much you can do about this problem because to be quite honest, without our current agricultural processes, many people would go hungry.
The cold hard truth is our current agricultural system is extremely efficient. The use of pesticides has revolutionized agriculture. Advancements in the cattle industry have allowed us to almost double the amount of beef harvested from a single steer.
The problem? It’s unsustainable. It’s causing problems with our environment and our health. While it’s easy to simply choose organic labels at the grocery store, these products are still coming from massive growing operations that are causing problems for our environment. If you really care about the environment, you would find a local grower and support him. His carbon footprint is a tiny fraction of the one General Mills is making. Tread lightly.
I know it’s easy (and cheaper) to go to the big stores and stock up on everything you need for the week in one trip. That’s fine, but I’m pushing you to find a few small farmers to get maybe one or two staples from instead. By doing this, you’re supporting a real person you can talk to and shake hands with. You know where it is coming from, and you know it’s fresh. It’s important to build relationships like this in a time when these small farmers are actively being pushed out of the market by Big Corporations.
Not to mention the feeling when you’re eating fresh eggs and milk from your Farmer Friend, when the grocery store is completely out due to some new disease or issue with the food chain. Try to shake hands with General Mills next time you see him.
How to Find a Local Farmer
I’ll tell you how I found several local sources of food and made many friends in the process.
To start, you want to be looking for someone who can supply you with your everyday staples so that you can easily buy from them weekly. Items like milk, eggs, produce, fruit, and meat. You’re probably not going to find someone locally growing exotic fruits or high end beef. You’ll still be using Costco or the grocery store, we’re just looking for the basics.
Finding a Farmer at the Farmers Market
When people think about finding locally grown food, they think about a Farmer’s Market. While this can be a successful journey, it’s important to know that not all sellers at the Farmer’s Market are actually producing that product. Many of the sellers at farmer’s markets and produce stands in small towns are just resellers. They buy produce in bulk and resell it. It’s usually coming from the same places the grocery stores are getting their produce. In many cases it’s not organic and the person selling it doesn’t even know where it came from!
If you go to the Farmer’s Market, you want to be looking for a farmer to make friends with. Someone who will talk to you and tell you about their operation. You want to find the man with dirty hands. You should be looking to build a relationship, not just cross out an item on your grocery list.
A chad farmer.
Ask them questions like:
Where do you grow these items?
How long have you been farming?
Do you use any pesticides on your crops?
I’m very interested in local farmers. Can I visit your farm one day?
These questions will quickly give you an idea if this is someone you would like to begin supporting with your hard earned cash. You’re looking for someone that operates fairly close to where you live. If they say they would allow you to visit their farm, take them up on it! There’s nothing better than driving out to a small farm and seeing how some of their day to day works. My wife and I have made this one of our favorite “dates”.
If you find someone who fits the bill and is growing something you’re interested in, congrats! Great success! After you begin to purchase from your new farmer friend, you can ask them where they get their milk, eggs, and meat. They probably know someone who grows the other items on your list.
However, this may not work for you. Many good small farmers have stopped going to the Farmer’s Market because it’s just not a smart economical decision for them. They’re getting hammered right now due to the many costs listed earlier. Some of them are even having to take day jobs to support their small farm operations due to the rising costs. The customers are going to Costco on Saturday, not Farmer’s Markets. Why would a small farmer spend a whole Saturday at a Farmer’s Market where the crowd is dwindling and not make very many sales? They have more important work to do.
Finding a Farmer on Social Media
Today’s small farmer’s are primarily using Facebook and Instagram for marketing and networking. I’ve found more Chad Farmers in my area on Facebook than any other. The process is similar to the Farmer’s Market, except it's all on social media.
Here are the steps for finding a Local Farmer on Facebook:
Go on Facebook and find the Groups Section
Search for groups like “Cattle Farmers of Central Florida” or “Backyard Chickens of Central Florida” or “Organic Gardening in Central Florida”, etc.
Many groups will pop up, you want to make sure you’re joining the ones with the most members, and it will tell you how frequent and how many posts are happening. You want to find the most active groups.
Join these groups and begin to check your feed, you’ll start to see posts from small farm pages that are shared into the group.
Be on the lookout for whatever you’re looking for. If you see someone post a beautiful garden offering fresh produce, you might have a winner! Looking for fresh food can also be as simple as asking the group. In the gardening group ask something like “I’m looking for a local organic veggie share in Ocala, Florida.” or in the cattle farmers group, ask something like “I’m looking to purchase half of beef in Ocala, Florida”.
Depending on your location, you should get several suggestions. Go down the list looking at the people that were suggested. See if you can find their farm page or website, from there you can see if they look like someone you could trust. Try to get an idea of the the size of their operation and maybe even find some reviews. When you talk to them make sure you remember that you’re trying to build a relationship, not just fill your freezer. See if you can meet them and see their operation. You may even be able to pick out your cow!!
Here are some general precautions to use when picking your new local farm source of food:
For meat producers, it’s very important to try to find customer reviews. Buying meat direct from a farmer is expensive and you’re getting a large amount of meat at one time. You need to be sure you’re going to get quality meat that tastes good. Don’t rush the meat farmer search! Once you find a reputable cattle farmer, you’ll work out the details. Usually you pay the farmer and he takes the live cattle to the butcher. You pick the meat up from the butcher. Most butcher facilities for cattle are required to be USDA certified, so you don’t have to worry too much about the butchering facility. You just want to make sure the rancher knows what he’s doing.
There are many factors that go into the quality and taste of meat. How the animal was raised, what it was fed, when it was fed in the days leading up to the butcher. DYOR and make sure you’re getting what you want.
For other items like raw milk, it’s very important to see their operation. You want to make sure the area where the milk is poured into jars is clean. Make sure they have the proper equipment to process the milk safely like clean glass jars and clean equipment. Milk should be iced down shortly after it is harvested so you will want to see an ice machine somewhere on the property. General food safe practices should be in place when the milk is being handled.
Veggie and fruit operations are less intense. You’re just looking for someone who doesn’t use synthetic chemicals on their produce and that the food is actually being grown on the property.
Your egg source should be someone who cares for their chickens properly. Look for healthy looking birds that have plenty of room to walk. The chicken house is not going to be perfectly clean, but you want to try to make sure they’re collecting eggs regularly and storing them properly. You’ll know if you get a bad egg!! haha
Repeat this searching process until you’re getting all of your main food staples from a trustworthy, local source regularly.
Summing it All Up
At the end of the day, we know our food chain is a total mess. The solution to all of the big problems with our food chain is a small farmer.
Most people are trying to eat healthy by buying organic which is great. But most of the organic food suppliers are still mega corporations who don’t care about you or your family. In order to make a difference, we must support local producers by building relationships with them and buying their goods regularly.
Knowing where your food comes from is powerful. Small farmers are saving our planet by operating on a small scale. They take care of the land because they have too, it’s their livelihood.
If we really care about our planet and the future of our loved ones, then we must begin sourcing local and fighting back againsts the big corporations.
Start today anon.
WAGMI
Farmer