We’ve all heard how popular organically made products are for quite a while now—one could even say that it is #trending. What is so appealing about the label organic? Most importantly, the health benefits that have been extensively researched pretty much all point to the fact that organic foods—those that are made with no synthetic pesticides or chemical fertilizers—are undoubtedly much healthier for you. Sounds pretty good, right?
A newer idea on the market—arguably one of the oldest recently re-discovered—is not only to eat foods that were made with organic practices but also to get them from places nearby you. Local is the definitely the new organic in terms of popularity, but they both still go very much hand in hand. With these pointers any Brandeisian can navigate the food world with a new set of tools and can start discovering the amazing world out there that is #realfood.
1. Local food means food that requires the minimum amount of transportation to get to you. Food that travels farther has to be harvested well before it is ripe, allowing for long journeys to help it ripen (gross). It requires a ton of fuel, which need not be used when similar (and better) products are just around the corner. It also means supporting your local economy, community and culture!
2. By knowing who and where your food is coming from, there is less chance for elimination of information about the practices and circumstances utilized to grow your food. Some farms are “factory farms,” meaning that they keep their animals in crazily tight cages, cut off their beaks, overfeed them, etc. The point is that all of this is going on just about 300 feet from acres and acres of produce. Although I am more than a bit of a germaphobe, I believe that most of us would be pretty grossed out by the idea of these practices and of cross-contamination. Think about it, guys: You should be an informed consumer. Ask questions, research a bit. The types of food you are putting in your body matters.
3. Local and organic are cheaper in the long run. This is a constantly debated point, but to give my two cents, if you are eating better farmed and cultivated food now, 10 years down the road your body will be happier with you than if you’re pumping your body with chicken filled with pesticides and steroids. I will not begin to get into the debate of whether locally farmed food is more expensive, but I will say that I am on a pretty tight budget and grabbing five produce items from the farmers market in Waltham for the week saves me a solid $7 to $10 per week than if I purchased the same items from Hannaford. It adds up, and the taste alone provides incentive.
4. Farmers markets are where all the hip, cute and environmentally inclined individuals hang. Sounds a little cliché to you? Even so, it is true! Ever seen the many women and men who look like they do yoga 24/7, smile wider than you ever could and offer a welcoming handshake immediately upon introduction? Well, this is where you’ll find them. Even if you go solely for purchasing products, farmers markets allow you to enter this cool little microcosm of people who just want to eat good food and would love you to do it alongside of them. The cuteness factor of the vendors definitely does not hurt…
5. Your body is really a sanctuary. Whoa, did I just go there? I did. If you gleaned anything at all from high school biology, then you know that your body is this crazy system functioning at insanely diverse and complex levels. Do you go to the gym regularly? Drink water? Brush your teeth? Find ways to de-stress? All of these contribute to feeling healthy in every arena (mind, body and health); the most important one, however, is that healthy, delicious food keeps your body going and allows all of these levels of functions to perform what they need to.
None of these ideas are meant to make you feel guilty for your specific lifestyle at all but rather to point out that each of us has our own practices, values and habits, and through all of these the one unifier is food. Food matters; its taste, specific uses in the body, community-forming abilities and role as energy source all play a role in each of our lives. Some of us have access to it; others of us do not as easily. I want to stress the fact that the reality is we are here at college, working harder than is imaginable at times, and need a little something to help us keep going. Luckily, here at Brandeis we have a farmers market down the street, as well as a plethora of them in the neighboring towns. Check them out! You never know what cool produce, interesting products and warm people you’ll find—it’s a whole new world. #timetogetrealbrandeis.