Farm-to-Table and Conscious, Sustainable Eating
Farm-To-Table, organic crops and sustainable farming are topics frequently discussed today in our local community and internet community. Is it just a fad? I hope not!
In our society today, it's known to be expensive to eat "healthy". Organic foods are often sold at a premium that many people just can't justify or afford comfortably. However, taking a step back to look at the broader picture of agriculture, it is simply a deliberate and artificial byproduct of nature. We leverage the natural sunshine, weather and precipitation, while maneuver around the details through watering, using fertilizers and growing inside greenhouses to amplify the outcome we want. Something that's seemingly natural and intuitive to us, now became extremely manufactured. It's great to still get to eat bananas when it's 10 degrees outside with a blizzard, but are we becoming unconscious of what we are actually doing?
Through a mile of dirt road off of Route 7 in Western Massachusetts, we set foot on the estate of Moon in the Pond Farm. It's a beautiful, classic and sustainable small farm ran by Dom. It doesn't have flashy machineries, but in every corner of the farm, I see true passion in providing genuine and honest food to our local community.
At Moon in the Pond, the pigs stroll around freely in a large open space instead of in a pen and sleep vicariously!
During an early afternoon visit, we shared a moment with Dom while he milks the only dairy cow, Honeysuckle, in the farm by hand.
As Dom said, it was only starting in the last 5 to 10 decades that many of us are no longer farmers. The concepts and way of living that used to be so intuitive to us for thousands of years are moving away from us slowly. Knowing where my food originates from and how it is raised and harvested, I can't imagine these local sustainable produces not to taste much better than those that are commercially produced. Even if there's a slightly higher margin than commercial farms, these local sustainable farms offer much higher quality in return.
It was certainly a day well spent at the farm. Being inspired, educated and connected with the natural haute way of living.