Hey there. So I was just thinking about knowing where something came from, it's a great thing to think about in any instance, but we should always be thinking about it when it comes to food. Don't you think????
How many times have you gone to a restaurant and have no clue where your food came from? I mean think about the big chain corporations, do they ever post where the chicken came from, the out season tomatoes came from, the chemically packaged salad came from? I could go on and on...and I'm not trying to bash large corporation chain restaurants, but think about it...we have no clue where that food originated from or how many preservatives and chemicals were put into it....or how much gas was used to transport it from point A to point B. I mean, let's be realistic, for convenience, price, and usually tasty desserts those chain restaurants are really the way to go...especially in this economy, but they don't have to be the way to go...if we just thought about smart ways to economize and help the small businesses, instead of the large corporations.
This idea has weaved in and out of previous blog posts, but it's an issue that is still occurring. Yesterday, my sister, our friend Jenn, and I went to New York City and we made a pit stop on Arthur Avenue in the Bronx. We went to lunch at Zero Otto Nove and on their menu, they listed where their meat came from, which listed the butcher across the street, there were indications of where food and pastries came from, it was comforting to know where it came from and the fact that the businesses on Arthur Avenue were supporting each other. That is supporting local economy and neighbors put into action. The Arthur avenue area is it's own subculture and while there is of course competition, there is also a sense of community, where you will see the pastry shop bringing in cannoli filling to a restaurant next door or down the street. You don't need to be crazy and find only farm to table restaurants, organic restaurants, vegan friendly restaurants, or new-aged oats, sprouts, peace and love restaurants to help our earth and our economy, you just need to find restaurants and communities that pull together and help one another, using local meat and local products, which have virtually no preservatives, if any and are all home made. Besides, it's a big fuss to find places that only serve organic this and organic that. YOU DON'T NEED ORGANIC ALL THE TIME or even most of the time to live a healthy lifestyle, purchase locally, eat locally, and support local business. If you do that and take the time to ask or look at where your food came from, you will be more satisfied with what you're putting in your mouth.
I always here people complain about how expensive farmers markets are, how expensive farm to table restaurants are, how expensive locally owned and operated restaurants are...well think about it...when a restaurant tries to support the locally economy the purchase local meats, local produce, local desserts, and other local products from small businesses and farms like themselves,but the farms and small business cannot sustain themselves with cheap prices while competing against major corporations, so they have to have higher prices to sustain themselves. However, if more people thought about sustainability and about ways they could help those small businesses and farms, by purchasing their products, then perhaps their prices would go down, because they would have a steadier cash flow, higher demand, and larger customer base...Food and finances kind of go hand in hand. Just think about that and let it settle in...it's a really interesting concept to think about and then you would get to know your farmer and where you're food is coming from! Personally I love that feeling.
For me I take comfort in knowing when and where my fish was caught, where my oysters came from, where my chicken, beef, pork, rabbit, and wild game came from, where my fruit and vegetables came from, and what type of business I am supporting. I mean we all need to go to the grocery store out of necessity some times, but now that spring has sprung and summer is fast approaching, try and buy locally--not even organically (because as I said, it's usually conventional and not many pesticides, if any are used), talk to the farmers and butchers and really get to know the origin of your food or take note at restaurants to see if the menu lists where the items came from (this will always be on the menu at a farm to table restaurant). You can enjoy great food and support the local economy, not enough people are, so take a stand and make a move! I hope that after reading this, you will try and do this at least once or twice this summer!!
Oh and another thing, instead getting fancy shmancy wines from Napa Valley, etc...look to see if your state has any vineyards and purchase wine from there. New Yorkers, we have the finger lakes and some good vineyards in LI, so always try and purchase their wine!
Hope you enjoy this post and take a while to think about this easy concept and then go out and do it :)!!
How many times have you gone to a restaurant and have no clue where your food came from? I mean think about the big chain corporations, do they ever post where the chicken came from, the out season tomatoes came from, the chemically packaged salad came from? I could go on and on...and I'm not trying to bash large corporation chain restaurants, but think about it...we have no clue where that food originated from or how many preservatives and chemicals were put into it....or how much gas was used to transport it from point A to point B. I mean, let's be realistic, for convenience, price, and usually tasty desserts those chain restaurants are really the way to go...especially in this economy, but they don't have to be the way to go...if we just thought about smart ways to economize and help the small businesses, instead of the large corporations.
This idea has weaved in and out of previous blog posts, but it's an issue that is still occurring. Yesterday, my sister, our friend Jenn, and I went to New York City and we made a pit stop on Arthur Avenue in the Bronx. We went to lunch at Zero Otto Nove and on their menu, they listed where their meat came from, which listed the butcher across the street, there were indications of where food and pastries came from, it was comforting to know where it came from and the fact that the businesses on Arthur Avenue were supporting each other. That is supporting local economy and neighbors put into action. The Arthur avenue area is it's own subculture and while there is of course competition, there is also a sense of community, where you will see the pastry shop bringing in cannoli filling to a restaurant next door or down the street. You don't need to be crazy and find only farm to table restaurants, organic restaurants, vegan friendly restaurants, or new-aged oats, sprouts, peace and love restaurants to help our earth and our economy, you just need to find restaurants and communities that pull together and help one another, using local meat and local products, which have virtually no preservatives, if any and are all home made. Besides, it's a big fuss to find places that only serve organic this and organic that. YOU DON'T NEED ORGANIC ALL THE TIME or even most of the time to live a healthy lifestyle, purchase locally, eat locally, and support local business. If you do that and take the time to ask or look at where your food came from, you will be more satisfied with what you're putting in your mouth.
I always here people complain about how expensive farmers markets are, how expensive farm to table restaurants are, how expensive locally owned and operated restaurants are...well think about it...when a restaurant tries to support the locally economy the purchase local meats, local produce, local desserts, and other local products from small businesses and farms like themselves,but the farms and small business cannot sustain themselves with cheap prices while competing against major corporations, so they have to have higher prices to sustain themselves. However, if more people thought about sustainability and about ways they could help those small businesses and farms, by purchasing their products, then perhaps their prices would go down, because they would have a steadier cash flow, higher demand, and larger customer base...Food and finances kind of go hand in hand. Just think about that and let it settle in...it's a really interesting concept to think about and then you would get to know your farmer and where you're food is coming from! Personally I love that feeling.
For me I take comfort in knowing when and where my fish was caught, where my oysters came from, where my chicken, beef, pork, rabbit, and wild game came from, where my fruit and vegetables came from, and what type of business I am supporting. I mean we all need to go to the grocery store out of necessity some times, but now that spring has sprung and summer is fast approaching, try and buy locally--not even organically (because as I said, it's usually conventional and not many pesticides, if any are used), talk to the farmers and butchers and really get to know the origin of your food or take note at restaurants to see if the menu lists where the items came from (this will always be on the menu at a farm to table restaurant). You can enjoy great food and support the local economy, not enough people are, so take a stand and make a move! I hope that after reading this, you will try and do this at least once or twice this summer!!
Oh and another thing, instead getting fancy shmancy wines from Napa Valley, etc...look to see if your state has any vineyards and purchase wine from there. New Yorkers, we have the finger lakes and some good vineyards in LI, so always try and purchase their wine!
Hope you enjoy this post and take a while to think about this easy concept and then go out and do it :)!!
It's always good to know where your food came from...I always know where my oysters come from!
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