Joel Salatin, a farmer and author wrote:

“This magical, marvelous food on our plate, this sustenance we absorb, has a story to tell. It has a journey. It leaves a footprint. It leaves a legacy. To eat with reckless abandon, without conscience, without knowledge; folks, this ain’t normal.”

What is the story of the food that sustains YOU? By Joel’s measure, are you normal?

My food story is one that tells of my travels … and my obsession with the foodways of my home, Southwest Michigan. Confessional complete, I’ll tell you why what I eat matters to me.

I forage for wild food… shop the farmer’s markets… travel to local farms and processors… and support restaurants and business that make local food a priority.

I do this because I care about the quality and flavor the of products I consume. I want to eat food that has been plucked off the vine at the peak of its flavor and ripeness – sold and consumed within 24 hours… not 24 days (or 12 months). Yes, I said 12 months. Let that sit with you a moment. How old is produce on the shelves at your local big box store, and, where exactly did it come from? Was it harvested while still green, left to ripen in the weeks it took to get to that shelf? And that’s just the start…

I don’t want to feed my family and friends food that have been genetically modified to be high-yielding, big and tough. I don’t want to feed them “engineered” anything. I’d rather eat strawberries covered in untreated soil from my farmers garden, than those saturated with pesticide and packaged in plastic containers. It was a common slogan in our house growing up, that you have to “eat some dirt before you die.” I’m good with that.

I do this because I want to support farmers and the local economy. I want to pet their goats. Learn about how they cultivate their plants. Listen to their seed-saver stories, and how they describe the flavor profile of each multicolored heirloom tomato in their stand.

I do this because I care about our environment. I want to eat produce from my area, not produce that has been flown or trucked across the country (or globe) – creating pollution and a trail of contaminants behind.

I do this because I want to consume foods that have the greatest nutritive density, filling my body with the intense benefits of whole foods harvested and consumed at their peak.

How do I do this?

This week we ate dandelion greens I plucked while on a run. I wandered the farmers market and filled my bags with fresh produce from Mark at Blue Stone Farm. We visited Evergreen Lane Farm & Creamery and communed with the goats and their people. We drank cider at Virtue and visited with their orchard pigs. We ate an outstanding plate of heirloom tomatoes at Salt of the Earth …

How do you interact with the food you eat – and the people, animals, and places that produce it? What steps will you take to explore Joel’s normal? How will you get out? Taste. Savor. Explore. Fall is upon us. Whatever your local bounty, or wherever your travels take you, I implore you … get cooking.