Warning: Reading such literature can prompt you to quit your day job, follow new dreams and move to a farm in southwestern Wisconsin – or other paths of change that may not currently be in your big picture life plan. That’s exactly what happened to my fellow farmer friend, Kriss Marion, who traded the Chicago scene in 2005 to launch Circle M Farm in Blanchardville, Wisconsin, running a CSA (community supported agriculture) and a fiber business. “People often ask me how it happened that we uprooted our city family and came to be market farming in southwest Wisconsin,” explains Marion. “The answer, plain and simple, is books.”

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“Livestock production is one of the major causes of the world’s most pressing environmental problems, including global warming, land degradation, air and water pollution, and loss of biodiversity. Using a methodology that considers the entire commodity chain, it estimates that livestock are responsible for 18 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, a bigger share than that of transport.”

The things we choose to eat can obviously have an enormous impact on the planet and everything on it, including ourselves. Naturally then, our diet choices can say a lot about our ethics and beliefs. They can even be a political statement and a form of activism. I think that every choice we make has the potential to change the world, and certainly what I choose to eat has an impact.

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Saw an article in the New York Times that got my attention this morning - Cutting Out the Middlemen, Shoppers Buy Slices of Farms by Susan Saulny - that inspired me to do a little shout out in support of CSA(Community Supported Agriculture). Of course, the concept isn’t so new to many of us who have been at this sustainable lifestyle thing for a while, but I realize there are a lot of folks just learning about some of this - yeah!

Over 20 years ago (when I was about 12 - not really, but I hate to seem so old!), I lived in the Berkshire mountains of western Massachusetts, which was an enclave of progressive, sustainability folks. I became president of one of the largest most comprehensive store-front food coops in New England, Berkshire Co-Op Market. We were plugged into some great local organic farmers and I was fortunate to be part of one of the early CSA groups.

It felt great to support our local organic farmers, who at that time, were struggling - there were no supermarket chains buying organic produce back then!

Find out more about CSAs and how you can find one near you!

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“I have been thinking a lot this week about growing things and how lucky we are to live in a place where it is possible to see nature in all its forms. As pissed off as I get about the deer eating produce, it still takes my breath away to see a doe and her baby standing by the side of the road. I love to watch the dragon flies dive boming over the plants in the field and just have to search for the nest of a quail who is frantically trying to call me in the opposite direction. It never ceases to amaze me that a seed no bigger than a pinhead can create a plant that is over 12 feet tall and will produce a two-pound tomato. What a wondrous world we live in.

Post for this week follow the jump.

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The two “experiments” in my haul are, of course, kohlrabi and amaranth. I heard more than one remark, “But what do you do with it?” over these items. I am determined to find out. For the kohlrabi, which is a combination word from German and German Swiss for “cabbage” and “turnip,” the mild radish-like flavor and crunch lends itself to a tangy kohlrabi slaw recipe.

For the rest of the carnival, entries from all of you include some great recipes and advice this week. Reader posts after the jump.

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In the meantime, we dress warm and console ourselves with purple and green asparagus, arugula, spring onions, herbs, lettuces and spinach.

Around the country, other markets are filled with spring’s freshest. Entries for this week’s Farmers Market Fare after the jump.

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Given that this coming week is Earth Day, and April is poetry month, here are a few words from Kahlil Gibran’s poem, “Earth:”

“How beautiful you are, Earth, and how sublime!
How perfect is your obedience to the light,  and
how noble is your submission to the sun!

How soothing is the song of your dawn, and how
harsh are the praises of your eventide!
How perfect you are, Earth, and how majestic!”

Here are your blog posts for the week (after the jump).

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The uptown eatery, which was recently featured on CNNMoney.com, goes to exceptional lengths to be eco-friendly. When the Minnesota weather cooperates, for instance, Galactic Pizza employees (costumed as unique superheroes) will deliver your order by electric car. The restaurant also gets its power from wind energy, sends some of its food waste to local pig farms and prints its menus on hemp.

The pizzas, too, are created with a green philosophy: many of the ingredients come from farms in Minnesota or Wisconsin, other ingredients are organic and the mozzarella comes from non-rGBH cows. Even vegans can find a menu item to their tastes, with choices including vegan mozzarella, vegan chicken and mock duck.

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What keeps this locavore’s heart warm in February, other than my child, six layers of clothes and fuzzy socks, is the knowledge that it is once again time to sign up for our CSA. CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. It is basically a mutual agreement between consumers and a farmer that helps guarantee the farmer a reliable income, and the consumers each get a share of the produce throughout the season.

A CSA is a real partnership; the consumers take on some of the risk of farming as a bad season can mean less produce. However, the support through the tough seasons allows the farm to continue, and it certainly pays off during the good seasons. Most seasons, a CSA subscription provides enough produce to feed a family of four. Many will offer shared, or half subscriptions for single people or small families. (Learn more about CSAs and how to find one after the jump).

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Chicago residents who want to get serious about eating local and organic food have a number of ways to get their hands on produce with low "food miles" that is grown in an earth-friendly way. In addition to the scores of different farmers’ markets to be found in different neighborhoods throughout the city, dozens of CSA options are available from organic farms in Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan and Indiana. But what happens after your farm share season ends and your friendly local farmer stops setting up his wares in the regular spot each week? Does the approach of winter mean it’s back to shopping at Whole Foods, where the prices can be high and the connection to local agricultural is not nearly as strong?

Not anymore. These days, Chicagoans have another option for sourcing organic produce that lasts all year long. Best of all, they deliver.

Irv & Shelly’s Fresh Picks is a unique service in the Chicago area that allows customers to order organic local produce online and have it delivered to their homes. Like a more sustainable version of online grocer Peapod, Fresh Picks offers item-by-item ordering from an inventory that’s entirely organic and, by and large, locally produced. Fruits and vegetables make up the bulk of the stock, but you can also get meat, dairy, eggs, pantry items like pasta sauce and preserves, and a wide array of baked goods. Once a week your order can be delivered, with the produce arriving just hours after leaving the farm.

The prices for custom orders are comparable with organic items in any grocery store, and Fresh Picks tacks on a delivery charge of just $5.50. The value is even greater when ordering the Fresh Picks Box, a CSA-style grab bag of the best in-season produce that comes in three sizes: $15, $25, and $40.

Fresh Picks was launched in 2006 by a married couple, Irv Cernauskas and Shelly Herman, who wanted to broaden the market for organic agriculture in the region. Even though Chicago is a huge market, most of the 40 or so farms that sell to Fresh Picks are too small to supply major retailers like Whole Foods. Such farmers typically rely on farmers’ markets and CSA subscriptions for income, but these channels have their own drawbacks: CSAs require the farms to set up their own distribution channels and farmers’ markets involve smaller amounts of produce that must be trucked to various locations. In a statement on the Fresh Picks Web site, Irv and Shelly say, "We want to partner with farmers to grow the market for local organic food and to improve our health and the environment in the process. We wanted to cut out as many middle men as possible and return the maximum dollars back to the farm so small independent farmers can flourish."

For anyone interested in eating healthy and locally who doesn’t relish the idea of lugging groceries home from the store — especially in the dead of winter — Fresh Picks might just be a dream come true. Speaking as a CSA subscriber who picks up my weekly box of veggies at a drop-off location each week, I can say that there are times when I wish that my food could travel the last six blocks from the farm to my house without my involvement. If I ever make the jump to a car-free lifestyle, this feature would be even more welcome. Yeah, I would rather do without middlemen, but sometimes the right one can make all the difference.

I can imagine that the added luxury of home delivery might also help overcome the mental hurdle that a lot of people — myself included — have about the cost of organic food. Intellectually, I can understand that conventional agriculture is subsidized in ways that are ecologically damaging and that the artificially cheap food prices we’ve gotten used to don’t include hidden costs to society. But I sometimes have a hard time reconciling myself to the idea of a $3 tomato; if that tomato found it own way to my house, maybe I’d be happier paying that price.

I do wonder, however, what the experience of Fresh Picks customers is like when the local growing season ends. During the winter months, there sure isn’t much fresh produce coming from farms in this part of the Midwest. Fresh Picks must get most its winter offerings from growers outside the region, and I wonder if the selection doesn’t drop dramatically or increase in price. But then again, if you’re eating locally and seasonally, you’re not buying strawberries in January, right?

If the Fresh Picks model proves successful, it might just become an idea worth replicating in other communities around the country. I can’t help but think that would be a good thing. Giving consumers new ways to make greener choices — and do it with less effort than they spend making the unsustainable choices they make now — seems like a key to changing the way we live. Only time will tell if Fresh Picks is the Amazon.com of organic food — or the next Webvan.

CSA or Community Supported Agriculture. Usually available from late spring through early fall, CSAs allow people to buy direct from a local farm. CSA members receive weekly baskets of produce depending on what is ready for harvest during the growing season. (Find a CSA farmer near you.)

Farmers markets. In many places parking lots or street blocks transform into hubs of activity with farmers selling fresh, locally grown produce. Many farmers’ markets also have more than just produce with local proprietors selling baked goods, meat, dairy products, eggs, honey, soaps, flowers, and handmade artifacts.

U-pick. Some farms will open to the public during harvest season. Common crops you can pick yourself are strawberries, blueberries and pumpkins. (This also makes for a fun family activity.)

Food Coop. Food cooperatives are usually set up like grocery stores but are run and operated by members, and feature a wide selection of locally grown and produced goods. If there aren’t any food coops near you, ask your grocery store or specialty food store for a greater selection of local products.

Restaurants. Eating local is becoming easier at restaurants. This is usually more prominent at locally owned and operated spots that feature changing menus depending on the season. If you have a favorite restaurant that doesn’t feature any local goods, start asking as there may be a few things the chef can easily incorporate. To find a restaurant near you, vist the Chef’s Collaborative Restaurant Locator.

Buying local doesn’t have to stop at just food. Many areas have other types of goods made regionally.

What do you buy local?

More information from GO:

A Short Glossary of Local Food Sources

Getting Local Food

Enigmatic No More: How to Locate Green Business Near You

Supporting Local Restaurants…And Get Money Back!

Local Food Makes Good Business Cent$

The Benefits of Eating Organic Foods

I Heart Organic SF: Connecting You to Your Local Organics

Daily Tip: Eating Green

Weekend Review: "Plenty" a Satisfying Read

All that shipping has an associated cost (financial cost as well as energy use and carbon release). Locally grown food has many adherents. There are hundreds of farms operating as community supported agriculture (CSA), where people buy memberships in the farm and receive a share of produce (usually on a weekly basis). CSA farms are wonderful for getting food locally, but they are usually tied to the local growing season, meaning that they don't have produce during the winter. But other options can allow even more extension of the growing season.

Even in cold-weather climates, for example, it is possible to grow some vegetables year round. In my area, a local farmer operates a zero-energy greenhouse with which he grows a range of cold-tolerant greens ("various lettuce, spinach, arugula, claytonia, mache, carrots, leeks, cress, tatsoi, pac choi, mizuna, and kale to name a few") throughout the winter. These are sold at the local farmers' market on weekends. (Interestingly, on cold winter days at the market, he often keeps the greens in an insulated cooler - not to keep them cool, but rather to keep them warm and prevent them from freezing.) The Brines Farm hoop house uses a frame covered with greenhouse film to create an enclosure to admit sunlight and retain heat in order to maintain a suitable growing environment. The project is well documented, and they have also produced a pamphlet with instructions for individuals who are interested in setting up similar enclosures for themselves. The pamphlet says a 12' x 12' greenhouse can be built for $200 or so.

A more unusual possibility has researchers have looked at the possibilities for a compost heated greenhouse. Composting gives off heat as the organic material is broken down. However, composting also releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. While plants require carbon dioxide for growth, in one test case, the CO2 created from composting was 6 times as much as the plants in the greenhouse required, and other by-products were also many times more than what was needed for a balanced system.

Supporting and choosing locally produced food reduces the carbon footprint for the food we do eat. For the DIY-inclined, building a hoop house is an easy project that makes it possible to have an extended growing season and be able to have locally produced food of their own.

Links:
LocalHarvest list of CSAs
Brines Farm
Hoop House instructions (PDF)
Compost Heated Greenhouse