Food, one assumes, provides nourishment; but Americans eat it fully aware that small amounts of poison have been added to improve its appearance and delay its putrefaction. — John Cage

If the revolution is to begin, it has to begin with food ... it has to begin with land, animals, farmers, nature ... it has to begin with what’s in my body and what’s in my head. — Kalle Lasn et al, Adbusters magazine

OK, so you want to make a difference in the world. You want to live your life more congruent with your values. You want to take direct action.

There is one simple thing that you can do right now. You can make conscious choices about what you eat. You can stop buying food that’s been shipped hundreds, perhaps thousands, of miles to supermarkets by huge agribusinesses. You can purchase fresh fruit and vegetables from local farmers instead.

According to Nicole DelCogliano of Green Toe Ground Organic Gardens in Celo, NC, such choices are not just about a more healthy diet, though that’s definitely one of the benefits. “Food is political no matter how you look at it,” says DelCogliano. “The money you spend on your food goes either toward supporting conventional industrial agriculture or local and organic agriculture. And every purchase directly affects people’s lives and the quality of our land, water and air.”

How so? Gary Gumz, director of the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project, explains: “Our current prevailing industrialized food system degrades our environment, concentrates food profits in large agribusiness corporations (with only 7 cents of the food dollar going to farmers) and centralizes food production capacity in factory farms.

“In 1948, the United States used 50 million pounds of insecticides per year and lost seven percent of the pre-harvest crop to insects. Today, with nearly a 20-fold greater insecticide use — almost a billion pounds a year — the insects get 13 percent and total U.S. crop losses are 20 percent higher than they were before we got on the pesticide treadmill. And, of course, pesticide residues have now found their way into our food, our soil and our water.

“Fortunately for western North Carolina residents and visitors there are numerous alternatives to tasteless, stale, corporate-produced food. Our region is blessed with small farms, many of which are producing food organically and sustainably; and with grocers, restaurants, bed and breakfasts and specialty food enterprises that feature locally-grown food and that support local farmers.”

One way you can buy locally grown produce is through community-supported agriculture (CSA). My wife, Shonnie, and I bought a membership with farmers Nicole DelCogliano and Gaelan Corozine of Green Toe Ground CSA earlier this spring. For a set fee we are supplied with fresh food beginning in the middle of May and running through early November. When we arrived at the weekly drop-off point in West Asheville, it became obvious that we’d not only made a commitment to the CSA; we had committed to eating seasonally as well. Asha, three-year-old daughter of Gaelan and Nicole, playfully wrapped herself around Shonnie’s leg as we filled our bag with our share of salad mix, greens, lettuce, onions, garlic and strawberries. We chatted with Gaelan about working at the farm one Saturday this summer, then departed with wholesome vegetables and berries plus a real sense of connection with the folks who were growing them.

“If you care about the health of yourself, others, the soil, water, and air; economic justice and fair living wages; and about preserving farms and the ‘culture’ part of agri-culture, then CSAs should interest you,” says DelCogliano. “We want to bring people together working for a healthy and fair farming system. We invite you to join the revolution, because that is what it truly is.”

Reprinted with permission from the author. Go to www.brucemulkey.com for more from this author. Looking for a CSA or a farm in your area? Go to http://www.localharvest.org.