This past Sunday Julie and Emma and I got a chance to go visit the farm that we get all our produce from. We signed up for a local farm co-op this summer so that every week we get a crate full of lettuce, onions, turnips, cabbage, mushrooms, and anything else the farm produces. It's called Lamb of God Farm in Big Rock, Illinois, which is just about 15 minutes away from Yorkville.

Recently Julie and I have really been impressed with the importance both of supporting local economy and local agriculture, as well as with the importance of supporting organic and environmentally sustainable farming practices (for more on this check out Wendell Berry's book Sex, Economy, Freedom and Community). Most people don't realize that the vast majority of the food they eat does not come from the small family farms of the idyllic American past. Most of our food now comes from huge agri-business corporately owned farms that commonly use toxic pesticides, cancer-causing growth hormones, and pay sub-standard wages to their largely migrant workers. The damage these farming practices are causing to our health and to God's creation is clearly unethical. In short, what we eat and where we get our food from is a justice issue and a spiritual issue. Because of this Julie and I were happy to buy a seasonal share in this local, organic small farm and enjoy the benefits of their labor. (In fact we just had a fabulous dinner tonight which included cabbage and turnips from the farm.)

At the little get-together this past weekend we got a chance to see the baby lambs and goats (Emma loved those - I'll post pictures later), tour the vegetable garden, and connect with other members of the co-op. In particular we met a very cool couple originally from Corvalis, Oregon, who had a little boy about Emma's age; and another couple who are living history performers at the local Renaissance Faire that Julie and I frequent every summer. I also had a good conversation with Scott Lehrer, the farm owner, about sustainable farming practices and their relevance to Christian faith. It was a good time and we were happy to make some new friends.

If any of you are interested in finding a local farm co-op near you, you can research more about this at localharvest.org.

Labels: personal, social justice