Buisty

I like figuring things out.

The following steps are from http://feedingninebillion.com

1. Shop at a farmers market.
Farmers markets are one venue where you can buy directly from farmers. Farmers’ may only receive as little as $0.05 of every dollar spent on products sold through conventional food retail outlets like supermarkets. According to McMahon, a sociologist, buying direct from the farmer helps the farmer retain up to $0.80 from every dollar. In addition to supporting farmer livelihoods, purchasing directly from your food producer lets you ask questions about how your food was grown. Not all vendors at farmers’ markets sell produce they grew themselves: different farmers markets have different rules about what can be sold. The great thing about farmers’ markets is you get to talk to the vendors themselves and ask questions about the food you buy!

2. Join a CSA.
CSA stands for community shared or supported agriculture, where the community shares in both the risks of farming and the bounty of the harvest. The way it works is you buy a ‘share’ of the farmer’s harvest in advance, giving the farmer the start up funds they need to grow their crops. Then you receive a box of food every week during the harvest. Similar to buying direct from farmers at farmers’ markets, buying direct from farmers through a CSA helps the farmer retain a greater portion of every dollar you spend.

3.Try Growing your Own Food.
Growing your own food will increase your knowledge of food and reduce the miles your food has to travel to just about zero. Additionally, you’ll gain a greater appreciation for the lifestyle of a farmer.

There are numerous books on the topics of growing your own food. The internet will provide you with a vast wealth of knowledge, however if you prefer a book, one title is “The Backyard Homestead” which will provide any aspiring gardener with the basic knowledge to get started. Additionally, if you’re interested in a community garden in Guelph the City maintains a number of them.

4. Experience Farm Life.
As the world shifts to predominantly urban, the plight of a farmers is increasingly farther removed from our consciousness. To gain an appreciation for our food, it is important to understand where it comes from. Try vacationing at a farm.

5. Eat in Season.
When you’re eating peppers in the middle of winter, they came from a long way away. Eating in season means that the food you’re eating is from the same region and that you’re supporting regional farmers. For advice on how to do this, see the links below.

6.Eat Efficiently:
Foods from animals generally require more land, water and fossil fuels to produce than plant foods because not all of the feed livestock consume is converted into meat, milk and eggs. Try experimenting with vegetarian recipes or start a Meatless Monday tradition to cut back on your animal food consumption. There are many factors that contribute to efficient food production. For example, organic, grass-fed beef raised and consumed locally could be more efficient in terms of resources consumed in production than industrially produced fruits, vegetables, or vegetarian protein options produced and processed long distances from where they are consumed and shipped half way around the world to get into our supermarkets. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition published an informative study comparing the resource efficiency of vegetable and animal foods that can be accessed here. Become informed about where your food comes from and what is required to produce it so that you can make more efficient choices.

7. Become Informed about Food.
Gaining knowledge our the food system will help you make better choices and understand the current issues regarding food. This website has attempted to inform you about a number of issues and solutions. On our publications page there are PDFs of many articles which deal with food issues.

8. Concentrate on Food Waste.
Estimates state that globally, 30% of the food grown is wasted at some point between the field and the dinner plate. Much of this waste is on the consumer end, as those leftovers aren’t as appealing on their third day. Try making this a focus in your kitchen by being conscious of it and planning smaller meals so there aren’t so many leftovers to be wasted. Additionally, preserving and processing raw vegetables is a great way to lower the amount of food waste in your kitchen. The food waste you do have you could compost. As a society, we are continually using more of the earth to store our garbage. When you throw out compost this fills up the space in landfills and required us to use even more space for our garbage. Additionally, if you try growing your own food, the compost will help improve the quality of your food. Learn more about composting.

9.Volunteer Professional Skills or Donate.
There are many organizations which are working tirelessly to improve our food system in many ways. They require resources to keep their efforts alive. Consider donating or volunteering your skills and time as a way to get involved and make a difference.

10. Start or Join a Campus Organization.
There are many people who won’t hear about these issues. Creating awareness and advocacy will help create the change in our food system which is needed to create a more sustainable future.

I don’t have a picture nor do I have a recipe but I basically browned the roast in a pan with salt and pepper. Cut up some onion and garlic and spread it on the bottom of the pan and put the roast on top. Then I poured a mixture of a 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, 1/4 cup honey mustard and 1/4 water with some herbs like a garlic mix, rosemary, thyme, and basil. I set it on low for about 7-8 hours. The liquids were used to make gravy (the balsamic and honey mustard flavours were subtle but present) and it was quite good. I’d maybe add more liquids next time though, perhaps some beef broth.