Thinking About Food: The Farmers' Market

Ok well here it is. Another "musation" on going green. What it means, why, how...and where I am with it now. So today John and I went to the local Farmers' Market in Brockley. This was partly to get me out of the house, off line and into the real world. It's a 10 minute walk from home so no fuel required beyond a swift bowl of breakfast cereal because I can't leave the house without breakfast. Well maybe if there was a fire... (I am in a slightly manic mood today but it won't last.So I'll enjoy it while I can!)

 Anyway this was our second visit but since the first one was months ago, I was pleased to be putting my attention into it. The inspiration was, aside from general greening awareness, an article on badger culling which I hope I can find now. Ah yes.. Now I didn't know much about it, and am still not an expert. What it highlighted though is the plight of farmers and the fact that the cull is quite likely a political move, a sop to appease a beleagured industry rather than really sorting out the problems.

Many people won't agree and will raise the statistics to prove it but I'm pretty convinced by the article. Anyway, it registered with me that shopping at a Farmers' Market is a Very Good Thing and a bit of practical action in the real world. It has one or two other benefits. Cheese that tastes like real cheese. WE bought a small bit of smoked Gubbeen cheese which went down a treat with the fruit bread. The vegetables all looked really vital. It was a great trip! Venison Sausages..from the Mersham Shoot

 Nothing is totally straightforward and that is what is amazing about this exploration. I do look at the facts but I trust my intuition too, and it tells me that it is time to eat more organic vegetables, there is something really lacking in supermarket produce. I liked seeing the photos of the farmers at one stall, just that bit more of a personal link. Eating a chicken you've cared for and who has enjoyed a life outdoors with plenty of space...

 

 All week I noticed the wind in a new way. Caressing my face. The winds of change, said John. Indeed. Where better to start than with the food I eat?