Restoring Food Security and a Dying Way of Life: Getting To Know Your Local Farmer

A few months ago I was introduced to Stuart and Margaret Osha of Turkey Hill Farms here in Central Vermont [USA]. I originally contacted them because people around me were raving about the taste and health benefits of raw milk. In fact, a couple of Truth To Power subscribers who live in the area were thrilled to have attended a workshop with the Osha’s on “The Family Cow”, and they wanted me to check out Turkey Hill Farms.

I’ll never forget the day I met the Osha’s and the feeling I had when I left there driving off into the lush, rolling hills with a couple of quarts of raw milk, home made granola, eggs, and vegetables-all produced at Turkey Hill. For the first time in my life I had purchased my food directly from local farmers-not at a farmer’s market, but directly from the farmer at the farm, and the feeling of satisfaction and a sense of rightness about it brought tears to my eyes. This was, after all, what I had been promoting for years, and finally, I had the opportunity to practice what I had been writing about.

But Vermont is not the only place where people can and should get to know their local farmer. Opportunities to do so exist almost everywhere in North America. As I have learned more about organic farming, and particularly as I have consumed vast quantities of raw milk and gotten to know the people who produce it, I’m deeply motivated to invite Truth To Power readers to create similar opportunities in their local communities. Read Interview

By Carolyn Baker