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Back in the Saddle

Posted at 5:51 PM on July 15, 2008 by Margaret Hochla

It's great to be back at the desk and writing again. I have so enjoyed reading all the entries and have vicariously shared the experiences that the central bloggers, at least, have been having. I had a serious surgery and a long recovery time, and I will be composing some entries about how our family fared with the locavore project and the cook being laid up! Fortunately, I had the opportunity to make a lot of food ahead.

Please read and give me your ideas about some or all of the points in the following. It is from the chairman of our local coop.

Buying and Eating What is Available

Five years ago, when the original group of "Oklahoma Food Coop Pioneers" came together, one of the things that was immediately obvious was: "This isn't going to look like a supermarket." Five years later, that is still true.

We don't have all of the ersatz convenience of a big box supermarket. You have to work a bit to participate successfully in the Oklahoma Food Coop, but the rewards are worth it.

The ersatz convenience that the supermarkets are so in love with hides a multiplicity of sins. I do buy some things at the supermarket, and occasionally I linger and just browse the aisles, looking at boxes and cans and reading the lists of ingredients.

I am amazed at how many products these days come equipped with a hefty dollop of High Fructose Corn Syrup. I looked for a half hour one time, at prepared and processed foods, and did not find one item that did not include High Fructose Corn Syrup.

When I first had the glimmer of the idea that has become this Coop, my primary thought was - "We need a way to make it easier for people to make better food choices." And so it has come to pass that "Offering a more healthy food alternative" is one of the many reasons why the Oklahoma Food Cooperative is so important. "Supporting Rural Communities" and "Helping Farmers Who Respect the Earth" are two more of those primary reasons.

I admit that membership and shopping at the Oklahoma Food Cooperative can be frustrating. There is never enough of some things. And that is almost a structural element of the situation. It is easy for us to add new members, and thus new demand. But it is not so easy to add new production.

Here are a couple of my strategies: One way I deal with this is by temperance. I accept the fact that I am not going to be able to buy everything my little heart desires through the coop. For some things, I look elsewhere - my own garden, or the farmers' markets. For other things, I just decide to eat something else. We often eat the same main dish several days in a row. Maybe I adjust the seasonings a bit, but it is never boring because the ingredients are so good.

Another thing I do is take advantage of what is available at the coop in abundance. Thus, while I still buy some vegetables elsewhere, it has been five years since I have bought meat at a supermarket. As things have turned out, it has been much easier for our meat producers to expand their production than it has been for our vegetable producers. Meat is the single most abundant product available through the Oklahoma Food Cooperative, and I can honestly say that in five years I have only had one time when I ended up disappointed with a meat order.

And that abundance is a good thing - it is good for families in the coop, and it is good for the environment. Conventional meat production, in Confined Animal Feeding Operations, is one of the most environmentally damaging activities on this planet. If I were to list all the problems, it would take me a week to write and it would take you a month to read it.

Every time we buy meat in a grocery store from the Confined Animal Feeding Operation system, we encourage more damage to the earth's environment and our rural communities. Every time we buy meat from free-ranging flocks and herds directly from the farmer - at the coop, a farmers' market, or a farm-gate sale - we help heal the earth and restore rural communities.

We never felt, from the beginning, that we would be able to do everything immediately. But what we can do, we are doing. Each customer who buys these meats from free ranging flocks and herds is a co-producer with the farmer of a better future. And it's a much healthier future for your family and yourself too.

A second item in plentiful supply in the coop is wheat. We are fortunate that the largest certified organic wheat producer in the state is a member of our coop. We may have some other producers coming along who will also offer wheat. But we really don't sell a lot of wheat, when compared with our total monthly orders, and that has always mystified me a bit.

Wheat is a marvelous food. Yes, it needs a bit of processing but the reward is worth that effort.

Wheat is also an important emergency food storage item. The conventional media has ignored this event, but over the last 3 months the last bushel of the nation's emergency grain reserve was sold, and as far as I know, there is no plan to refill that reserve. For all of my life, in the background was the security of a federal emergency grain reserve. In case of a prolonged drought or crop failures, there was wheat in the bins ready to fill the gap.

All Gone Now. And it won't be refilled. And for several years, world grain consumption has exceeded world grain reserves. That's why the depletion of the emergency grain reserve of the United States government should be a cause of concern for every family. It's like someone cancelling your fire insurance without telling you.

A good grain harvest is coming in this year, which is why I say: now is the time to buy wheat and store it, even if you don't presently use wheat. My experience is that if people will just buy some wheat for food storage purposes, eventually they will get around to using it. In the OKC area, that is about to become easier because the Dorothy Day Center at St. Charles Borromeo parish in Warr Acres is raising money to buy a commercial flour mill. Once installed, they will have monthly "milling days", where anyone can bring their wheat and have it ground. Their mill will grind 50 lbs in an hour. This will be a marvelous contribution to food security in Oklahoma City. Next we need to get one up in Tulsa and in other regional population centers. (If you'd like to make a tax-deductible donation towards the purchase of that equipment, contact Marcus Evans at 405-740-0697.)

But in the meantime, think of wheat not only as a good and nutritious food, but also as important food security insurance for your family and community. A 25 pound container only costs $12.50, and that equals 25 loaves of bread. How much does bread cost these days at the supermarket?

Our Prepared Foods Departments and Shelves are a third area where the Coop is plentifully supplied. Many people buy their lunch at work. A much better plan is to "eat out with the coop". Instead of spending money for junk food, buy prepared real foods from our coop's bakers and cooks and warm it up in the office microwave. Yes, buying prepared foods through the coop is more expensive than making your own, but it is generally less expensive than most fast food options.

And a fourth product area where supplies are readily available are our non-food items, in particular, our body care products. As anyone who knows me understands, I am not a high maintenance kind of guy. But from the very beginning of the coop, I have enjoyed using the artisan soaps made and sold by our producers. Yeah, they are more expensive than mass market soaps, but the quality of the coop's offerings is so superior to the mass market that it is almost startling. And they last so much longer, as it turns out they are actually cheaper. One bar of the artisan soaps I have tried (and I have tried nearly everyone's soap bars) goes as far as three or four mass market soaps from a big box store.

Remember the basic equation: If we want a more sustainable, just, and humane agriculture system, then there must be a market for the products of a more sustainable, just, and humane agriculture system.

You get what you pay for. Let's stop, or greatly reduce, the money we spend that encourages animal cruelty, environmental degradation, and the destruction of rural communities. Let's shift that money to farmers and producers who respect the Earth, who treat their flocks and herds humanely, and whose work supports their local communities.

Bob Waldrop