In the reading of The Omnivores Dilemma, I learned things about the food I eat that I never would have thought of. I’ve never sat down at Applebee’s, looking at the menu wondered “where is my food coming from?” I’ve never even thought to question it. I never questioned the chicken and steak I buy at Costco. It’s just from Costco right? Through this reading, I realized my ignorance of the food industry and it opened my eyes to things I never would have thought of. One thing that I definitely plan on bringing home with me is trying to buy local. Thinking about how far some of this food has traveled to get to my stomach, floors me. How do I know that it hasn’t been traveling for days? If I know that it is grown or raised close to home, it will make it easier for me to see where the food is coming from. And, just like Polyface, I can go check out the farm and see if it’s somewhere that I want to be buying food from.
That is another new concept that I’d never thought of before that I loved: a personal relationship with these farmers. This is another goal I have to bring home with me. I want to get to know the people who are selling at the farmers’ markets. I think it opens up opportunities to meet and get to know different types of people. In addition, if I go out and get to know and become friends with the people that are providing my food, they will probably start to care more about the products that they’re giving me.
Visiting the farm today was interesting because it was a real situation that we got to see of the same type of situation as Polyface. Reverend Nixon grows his own fruit and raises his own livestock, and then goes out and sells it to the local community. Then, the people know that he is a good, trusting guy, and that his products are good, quality products. I can’t wait to find a place like this back home that I can really trust with my food.
Journal entry by Hunter Foote