Food grown locally, and eaten here, too

May, and our calves are doing well. Irrigation is flowing. Valley ranchers have finished burning off fields and ditches of noxious weeds and willows. Recent rain has caused grass and sagebrush to pop up and pay attention to Spring.

A whole lot is going on out in the world needing attention, wars, female castration, unnecessary starvation, extreme glacial melt, airport growth, floodplain zoning, and since I own both a pair of worn Birkenstocks and scuffed cowboy boots I can address the next issue fair and balanced, tired food.

Great Basin Basket, Reno area coordinator Pauline Hamilton and local Smith Valley beef producer Tina Smith spoke about the importance of purchasing locally grown fresh produce to avoid the tired food problem at Douglas County Democratic Woman's luncheon on May 5.

Hamilton explained that the lunch in front of us diners traveled over 1,500 miles before resting on our plates. Not being an investigative reporter I am not familiar with how to track that particular fact for verification, but in some additional reading in an article by Jessica Timmons of Reno. in the Nevada Home magazine, May 2008, Timmons stated, "... studies show the average carrot travels more than 1,800 miles to reach the dinner table."

That is one tired carrot and think of all the limp lettuce, and lonesome sticks of celery. The miles food travels adds to its cost to the environment in petroleum products used to get it to its destination, besides diminishing the taste of the produce. Then consider the chemicals sprayed on fruits and vegetables to ripen them in transport or to deter the rotting processes.

Hamilton wants people to stop purchasing produce from the "distribution grid."

She wants people to support their local agriculture producers by purchasing fresh organically/sustainably raised produce from the Great Basin area through Great Basin Basket CSA, community supported agriculture.

Great Basin Basket CSA procures for delivery from area farms tomatoes, potatoes, lettuce of all kinds, spinach, beans, beets, carrots and radishes to list just a few items available from May through June. The Full Summer basket, July to mid October, contains a whole paragraph of available produce. Melons, eggplant, sweet corn, raspberries, watermelon, cucumbers and peppers a partial list.

Produce baskets are available for 32 weeks from the first week of May to the second week of December. You can select how many weeks you want to receive produce and choose a convenient delivery location. If you organize over 20 basket subscriptions for one location you may be considered for a designated drop-off site so you don't have to travel, your produce will come to you.

The other issue of CSA is to help support local farmers, beef producers and if push comes to shove, even sheep producers or other sustainably grown meat or fiber producers. (For those who don't know once sheepherders and cattlemen fought over rangeland causing all kinds of trouble. We all get along pretty well now, but tradition makes me taunt sheepherders. Fair and balanced disclosure.)

Smith described how she found farmers for Great Basin Basket CSA with a sigh, "Nevada is small." An estimated 20 acres of Nevada farmland now supplies baskets to 200-250 area families. So if you want to support area agricultural producers contact Hamilton at (775) 843-6402, greatbasinbasket@yahoo.com. Smith grows organic, grass fed beef, can be reached at (775) 465-2549, jsbeef@earthlink.net. Happy local eating and keep an eye out globally.