Dirt on one's hands

One of the more interesting ideas that has been on the radio recently involves purchasing cars that are made here in Michigan. The idea is if the car is assembled here in Michigan and we buy these cars, it will help keep Michiganders work and provide support for local tax bases. More interestingly, not all of the cars that have been mentioned in these ads are from the "Big Three" - many are from the "foreign car manufacturers". At the same time, auto plants are closing statewide, benefits are being cut, buyouts are being waved in front of workers and the state's economy sinks further and further behind the rest of the country.

While it would be hard to buy only Michigan made products, it amazes me how much of our consumer dollar is sent out of the state via the mega-stores - especially those that offer staples such as food, clothing, and the like. While there aren't a lot of clothing manufacturers in Michigan, agriculture is one of the bigger industries in the state and the "little farmer" probably pushes it further toward the top of the list. Yet, most people do not shop locally or support local growers right in their home town. We have no concept where the meats, fruits, and vegetables have been before they reach our hands. Likewise do we know much about what they've been treated with to prolong their shelf life (necessary for long shipments), nor how they were raised, or by whom.

Probably the closest knowledge about one's food would be gained by growing your own - one of the basic principles and goals of self sufficiency and downshifting. And if one has the brownest of brown thumbs or lives on the top floor of a condo high rise, one can still support the local economy by shoping for what you can from local growers and suppliers. Everyone could go to U-pick family operations and get the freshest fruits and vegetables IF we would just tale the time.

For me, I have been as guilty as the next. And with the realization of that guilty will come my downshifting target and goal to raise more of my own food, to offer my spare products to others and to buy locally that which I can not provide for myself.

So its going to mean that I'll need to prepare some growing space for fruits and vegetables; maybe a few hens or ducks for fresh eggs; a nice herb garden; and making the effort to know the folks down at the Farmer's market. Most folks buy a new car once every five or ten years, but we eat everyday. Now we need to eat locally to support our economy everyday and not just every few years.