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Another
week, another recall. Now it is
tomatoes; a few months ago, it was
beef. What can you do to minimize
your family’s exposure to
unhealthy food? Instead of waiting
for the FDA to step up, maybe it
is time to take control of our
food safety. One way to do this is
to grow your own or start buying
locally produced food or do a
combination of both.
Many
believe that growing food requires
massive amounts of space. Not
necessarily. Many vegetables and
even some fruits can be grown in
containers. Tomatoes can be grown
in 5 gallon containers and will
provide you with plenty of
tomatoes. Beans, squash and
cucumbers can be grown vertically
to save space. And though
container gardening may not
produce enough food to feed you
through the winter, it will
provide enough for numerous meals.
Often
we think vegetables and herbs have
to be grown in their own garden
space, but these can be easily
incorporated into flower beds,
where they can be an attractive
addition. Swiss chard has lovely
stalks, and eggplant has beautiful
purple blooms and fruit. If left
to ripen, peppers, along with
tomatoes, can provide a nice bit
of color during the summer. Grow
colorful scarlet runner bean on a
trellis for the hummingbirds they
attract and the beans they
provide.
Even
though we are nearing the end of
June, there is plenty of time to
grow your own vegetables. Many
garden centers have tomato and
pepper plants still available.
Beans, cucumbers, lettuce and many
other vegetables can be started
from seed and harvested before
winter. If you don’t know where
to begin, contact the Campbell
County Extension to help you get
started.
You
would love to grow your own
vegetables, but you don’t have
the time. No problem. There are
many local farmers who sell their
produce to the public. One of the
advantages to purchasing food
produced locally versus from a
grocery chain is the just picked
freshness. Another reason is
accountability. The grocer will
not know what fertilizers were
used or how a product was grown,
and they may not know where a
product originated. But ask a
local farmer and they can tell you
everything about how one of their
products is grown.
Not
only does buying food locally
provide a clear chain of
responsibility, it also has a
positive impact on the
environment. You reduce gasoline
usage and emissions, because your
food isn’t traveling hundreds of
miles to get to you. You also are
sustaining the local economy by
supporting a local business. Check
out farmer’s market at www.localharvest.org.
You
have a choice as a consumer. You
can try to hold the FDA
accountable for your food safety,
but why not grow some of your own
produce or buy locally this year?
You will have the piece of mind of
knowing how your food was grown
and will have some fun in the
process.
Sharon
Tepe is the founder of Go Green.
If you would like more
information, contact
Sharon
at sharon.tepe@fuse.net
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