AndrewS’s Recent Comments

• Click here to view comment in original post

  too few local farmers?

  In addition to the "trendy" problem, it sounds like you either don't have enough farmers in your area competing to lower prices and improve quality Or you have "middle-men" inflating the prices.

  Fruit and vegetables in season bought directly from the farmer are generally cheaper than their counterparts in the grocery stores. In many areas, high volume produce like tomatoes, sweet corn, and summer squash, to name a few, are so abundant at the peak of their season that farmers practically give them away. The trick to saving money later is to figure out ways to store those veggies for times when the farms in your region are producing less. It takes some creativity, research, and effort, but it is possible. I'm still making sauces from local organic tomatoes and peppers that I got free last fall because our CSA had such a bumper crop and didn't have the resources to get it all harvested.

  Best of luck.On As the feds bail out Wall Street, here's a food-related fix for Main Street posted 1 year, 7 months ago 12 Responses

• Click here to view comment in original post

  Absent political will; we need individual action

  I agree w/ javaearth. Eating lower on the food chain and eating locally is not difficult. My family has been getting more than half of our food from local farmers (mostly organic), and because we're buying from the source our grocery bills are actually less than they were when we were getting our food from the giant grocery store. We're not vegetarian, but we have also saved money on our grocery bills by eating less meat. One other trick is eating what's in season. Food that's in season costs much less than buying tomatoes in February imported from Chile.

  Buying locally also supports your local farming community.

  Try www.localharvest.org for a place to start finding out about local food sources.

  How about driving less, spending less, buying less "stuff," eliminating credit card debt, and taking action locally on issues important to us as places to start?On As the feds bail out Wall Street, here's a food-related fix for Main Street posted 1 year, 7 months ago 12 Responses

• Click here to view comment in original post

  It's better than nothing right?

  That proposal is a big improvement over doing nothing at all. Wouldn't it be better for those of us who feel strongly about the environment and social justice issues to support initiatives that would improve the situation rather than criticizing them because they're not perfect? The gloom and doom attitude that demands perfect solutions now is part of why so little gets done in the U.S. If we are divided, we will never be able to come together to deal with unjust government policies and megacorporations.On Report by Australia economist suggests ambitious climate policy posted 1 year, 7 months ago 2 Responses

• Click here to view comment in original post

  biodiesel as temporary/partial measure

  I think most people agree that the diversion of food into fuel is a major problem. We are only in the beginning stages of figuring out what's next when it comes to energy. Converting our current system of transportation and fuel distribution into something more "sustainable" will take time and some trial and error.

  Biodiesel and ethanol from corn, soy, palm oil ... may only be temporary solutions for learning how to implement something more sophisticated and diverse. What about biodiesel to fuel a more comprehensive mass transit system and high-mileage personal vehicles -- where the biodiesel is made from localized renewable resources like tall grasses grown beside highways and waste vegetable oil from restaurants? Or areas with abundant solar and wind potential could fuel plug-in electric mass transit and personal vehicles. I think the possibilities are only limited by our creativity.On To survive, producers wanly import feedstock and export fuel posted 1 year, 7 months ago 18 Responses