If you didn’t already know, “Know Your Farmer Know Your Food” is a new USDA initiative to help more Americans understand where their food comes from and how they can support local food economies in their communities.
I love the underlying idea of this program. I am a firm believer in the importance of knowing where my food comes from. Yes, the skeptic in me wonders how sincere the USDA can be about this, considering they subsidize genetically modified crops like corn and soy, as well as supporting big agri-business companies like Monsanto.
Maybe I need to get over it. Maybe I need to see this is an opportunity, the opening of a door if you will. Maybe the underlying, positive message is what I ought to focus on. It’s up to each one of us to be active participants in what we choose to eat. Hopefully this program gets more people out to farmers markets and local farms, gets them talking to their local farmers, gets them asking questions, and gets them questioning the status quo when it comes to our food system.
For the low-down on events surrounding the launch of the program check out the blog Obama Foodarama.
The USDA also want folks to comment on the ‘Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food’ YouTube playlist, as well as submit videos or provide comments on this initiative by e-mailing KnowYourFarmer@usda.gov.
So, let us get out there, mingle with the farmers and our food, and then, let’s speak up.
I confess I am skeptical as well. My blog post came across a little more cynical than I'd like. But I've been burned before and it's difficult.
I think it's easy to be skeptical and your blog post certainly brought up some important points. I am trying to be cautiously optimistic.