Sustainability

My younges picking apples in our yard

I was completely stumped this week as to what I should write about. I just didn't get that little spark that lends itself to inspired thought.  I spent quite a bit of time looking at my old musings again to see if I couldn't polish up some old turd, but sadly…still no spark. I did however run across this little gem I had written in response to an interview question my friend had put to me for her college project.

Yes…again it has to do with food.  I think anyone who sticks around to read my ramblings will end up hearing quite a few of my rants about food. It’s a passion.  It does however lend itself a little to my hippy childhood and the influences and belief systems that were passed on to me.  Happy spring!

Q: In what ways if any have you been influenced from living on an agrarian (farming) community as a child towards decisions of sustainability as an adult?

A: Growing up in a community in which much of our food was farmed by us and little was acquired elsewhere I think has influenced me heavily as an adult. From a very young age an example was set on where food actually came from. I had very little exposure to a grocery store at all. Eggs came from chickens, beef from cows, fruits and veggies from the garden, bread from the oven etc…My mother and her peers worked hard during the growing season to put food up for winter. We only ate what we had available and in season, with the exception of bulk dry goods such as beans, rice, oats, and flour.

As an adult, and parent responsible for feeding my family I am always searching for the most “sustainable” way to stock my shelves. Not having the lifestyle I did when I was a child, or having a network of community all working together to grow food makes this more difficult. I am acutely aware of every sacrifice I make to my ideals when it comes to food. I am highly opposed to commercial farming tactics and use of pesticides and hormones in mass produced food. We shop for organic, locally grown, and bulk food s whenever possible. That being said, we are far from perfect and with the mass quantity of commercially farmed foods our home and dinner table is far from pure. But unlike many households today we at least have a consciousness as to where our food comes from and at what cost it comes to us. I get frequent eye rolling from my tween when I launch an attack on whatever treat we are about to consume.

Sustainability is also important to me when it comes to consuming other resources such as fuel and electricity. Growing up my family had no electricity much of the time and very few vehicles in my childhood household. I think this came much from lack of finance, but also setting sort of intentional example. While I know living without these conveniences is possible, it’s not something I choose as an adult. I do however conserve these resources wherever possible. Recycling, composting, and other such things are a daily habit for me and I consider it very important and teach my children the same.

In the end, I think growing up the way I did, influenced my thought processes as an adult on such things as sustainability pretty heavily. An awareness of nature, the circle of life, and other lessons, made it impossible not to consider these things into my adulthood. 

Harvest time from our small garden patch