Exploration Four: Fresh Response by Jared Gandelot

One of the most important ideas from the film that got my attention is the push to start growing, buying and eating local and organic food. It is healthier and makes more economic since than current farming techniques. As John Ikerd said "It's simply a matter of it being time to shift to a different paradigm, a different vision for the future." If we don't change now the consequences could be catastrophic.
The film was very persuasive over all, explaining how the current food system is not sustainable and how a better one should look like. I feel that it could have better explained how to transition rather than just showing us a better food system, the transition is the most crucial part.
If I were to review this film I would focus on how to make organic and local food more economically viable for both the farmer and the buyer. One of the main problem that local farmers face is where/how to sell there produce, this in turn makes the food more expensive because of the uncertainty involved. Farmers markets seem like a good idea but they force farmers to compete against each other and usually include a fee to sell there. The best option that I found is called Community Supported Agriculture. This involved the consumer buying a share of a farm's projected harvest, paying for it up front and then picking up their share at harvest. This system divides the risk between the consumer and the farmer. http://www.sustainabletable.org/254/local-regional-food-systems



According to the USDA there are about 2,500 CSA's in the US as of 2010.
http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/err-economic-research-report/err97.aspx