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| Egg scare could be a boon for local organic farms |
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| Written by Ron Kaye |
| Wednesday, 01 September 2010 20:16 |
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2010 has been a difficult year for many people, what with factory closings, bankruptcies, home foreclosures, and widespread unemployment, but the recent recall of nearly half a billion eggs due to salmonella contamination has struck hard, even in households and businesses that had otherwise escaped the economic crisis. Consumers are avoiding eggs in droves, and even those who are willing to take a chance are finding supplies awfully thin at their local grocery stores. And when you're having brunch at your favorite bistro this holiday weekend, you'll likely notice that the Eggs Benedict and Eggs Oscar that normally adorn other diners' tables are conspicuously absent. So what's an egg-loving consumer - or restaurateur - to do? The answer might be closer than you think: local organic farms. Organic farms were once the realm of eclectic hippie tree-hugger types who abandoned their careers to raise crops and livestock in accordance with kinder, gentler methods, eschewing chemicals and genetic manipulation. These days, however, local organic farmers, and especially poultry operations, are seeing a dramatic upswing in interest, acceptance, and yes, sales. Driven more by the desire to adopt a natural lifestyle than by the quest for ever-increasing profits, local farms resist the pressure to use "artificial" means to increase their production. Vegetables are grown without the use of toxic chemicals, and the animals they raise aren't pumped full of antibiotics and hormones so typically used by the huge corporate operations. Furthermore, the cattle, goats, and chickens they raise are typically free to forage for their food, rather than being crammed into tight spaces where disease can more easily spread. Of course, the corporate giants have taken note of the growing interest in "natural" foodstuffs, but their efforts to jump on the bandwagon have been more public relations than operational changes. For example, large poultry producers are allowed by law to call their operations "free range" merely by providing a single opening in a huge poultry house, where the chickens can (theoretically) pass outside at will. However, chickens - being the intellectual giants we all know them to be - are unlikely to seek out the opening when their food supply remains inside. On some "free range" operations, the birds simply never avail themselves of the opportunity to get a bit of fresh air. Until the loopholes in the laws are plugged, you'll just have to do a bit of research to find the natural foods you want. The US Dept. of Agriculture spells out the current regulations covering organic food production on their website at http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/pubs/ofp/ofp.shtml . Here in Atlanta, we have a plethora of sources for honest-to-gosh "natural, organic" vegetables, meats, and poultry. Granted, the prices of the products are higher than you'll pay in the mega-markets, but if you weigh the cost of a trip to the ER to stop the misery of "burning the candle at both ends," the cost differential doesn't seem so great. Aside from the health benefits, you'll be supporting a once-vanishing breed of entrepreneurs, and meeting some very interesting individuals, to boot. So take advantage of the long weekend, get in your car (preferably a hybrid, of course!), and do some shopping at one of the area's many farmers' markets and organic farms. Just in case you don't know where to find them, check out the links below for more information. And enjoy your Eggs Benedict this Sunday, worry free! Atlanta Area Farmers' Markets & Organic Farms http://www.georgiaorganics.org/foodguide/LFGguide.pdf http://www.americantowns.com/ga/atlanta-local-food http://www.pickyourown.org/GAfarmersmarkets.htm Atlanta Area Organic Eateries http://www.urbanspoon.com/f/9/37206/Atlanta/Organic-Restaurants http://local.yahoo.com/GA/Atlanta/Food+Dining/Natural+Organic+Foods Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites |
