Sunday, March 16, 2008

Good news for people who eat

Back in the 1970s when my parents went “back-to-the-land” and started the commune, we had a tough go peddling our organic veggies and free-range eggs. The farmers’ markets in Maine were best described as “fledgling” and most people were still in awe of the vast offerings of cheap food at the local supermarket. People wondered: Why bother buying local?

But as this story in today’s NYT’s Fashion & Style section documents, college-educated, 20- and 30-somethings are once again heading to the hills and tilling the soil. But this time they have economics on their side:

“the growing market for organic and locally grown produce is making it possible for well-run small farms to thrive, said Ken Meter, 58, who studies the economics of food as an analyst at the Crossroads Resource Center, a nonprofit advocacy group for local food initiatives that is based in Minnesota.”

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