I had
the opportunity to attend The Midlands food Summit hosted by The Midlands Local
Food Collaborative on Monday. When I got the invite I had no idea what the
event was, or what it was really about. Nor did I have a clue as to what The
Midlands Local Food Collaborative was or what they stood for. Needless to say I
was just tickled to be included in something to do with the midlands food
movement.
After
giving myself a bit of a pep-talk sitting in the car, I headed for the door of
the Philips Center at the State Farmers Market. Once inside I quickly tried to
find some familiar faces. Seeing a few made me more comfortable and I started
to breathe a little bit easier. I found a seat and started to listen to the
crowd around the table. I unknowingly sat with a group of Ag Teachers.
About
an hour or so into the meeting I had a pretty clear view of who this collection
of people are. I was extremely grateful to be present. They are people that
work, lead and motivate our actual food system. It was everyone from Non-Profit
Food Hubs, The USDA (Natural Resources Conservation Service), Farmers, Lenders
(agricultural lenders that help get grants and such), to the consumer. It was a
large group of entities and individuals that care about making our food
sustainable.
I think
I might have actually died and gone to Heaven for the few hours that I was
there. Being able to learn about the challenges that our current farmers have
was truly an eye opener for me. To realize that for our whole state, we only
have two USDA certified slaughtering facilities gave me perspective on what
our meat farmers are up against. For me to hear that our schools are not
equipped to handle fresh food was another kicker. Are we not building kitchens
in schools anymore? Or is it that there are so many regulations in regards to
cooking real food, that the system just does not allow real food? I was learning
all of this and more while we were brain storming ideas on how to solve such
issues.
And
that is where the beauty of this whole meeting came together. When a hundred or
so people put their minds together to bring positive change, is when change can
actually happen. We all understand that in today’s society that what we eat
will not be 100 percent local. But to strive towards a goal that will allow
more people to actually have access and eat food produced in South Carolina, is
a goal all South Carolinian's should be working towards. If we want to avoid
major price hikes and not knowing where our food comes from, we might want to
take a moment to think of how much food is needed for each person, each day.
Then think about how much land is actually being used to raise said food. And
then, Think about who will farm that, because as of now the average age of a
farmer is 59 years old.
My
brain is still reeling from so much information, information such as the Food
Safety Modification Act (FSMA) that was signed into law in back in 2011. (http://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceRegulation/FSMA/ucm247548.htm
) It went into law but the FDA has yet
to re-release its guidelines. Guidelines that when first released last year
would have cause the organic farmer to be obsolete. Thankfully, the FDA is
rewriting the guidelines, but they still expect that a number of small farms to
be put out of business.
Whatever
the FDA decides is appropriate, we as consumers can make the difference for our
state by buying from our local farms, and of course by being active in organizations
that lead the way in managing our food rights. I mean, how silly would it be if
we could no longer have a farmers market because of regulations?
