Is food part of the solution?

[warch]

I think there is a local market for grass fed "baby" beef.

There are growing local markets in the US for good, natural food. Go Griffs go. And I'm thinking that the net can help make marketing workable for small, even isolated operations. That, and farmers markets, local restaurants, grocery stores, Co-ops that focus locally produced, healthier foods. It seems people are growing more willing to spend a higher percentage of their income for good food.

I know a local family that took on sheep farming about 5 years ago, now getting aclaim for their amazing cave-aged sheeps milk cheeses. Hard work, but they love it- they need to think about what size of an operation is big enough. And their efforts have had a tremendous effect on the local farm economy. And they do sell to shee shee restaurants, but its basically affordable peasant food.

I dont pretend to grasp the tangle that is gov't subsidized agribusiness and international trade, although I'll keep trying. Seems like it could be simplified- smaller scale farms raising diverse, regionaly specific things that are consumed in a regular, seasonal cycle. There are amazing tasting crops that are extinct or almost - varieties of peaches, apricots, plums, all having been replaced in most American experience with a lesser tasting, better traveling, and uniformly appearing version.