Issue #030, September 24, 2010

Why Locally Produced Food is Best

If you grew up in the city like me, you probably thought the grocery store was only place to get food. But such wrong thinking can be detrimental to your health. When it comes to the best quality food, your local producer will win hands down.

Why? Because the free market is alive and well at the local farms. The small farms know they have to provide you with an excellent product. Not so with the industrialized food producers.

I recently watched a fascinating documentary called Food, Inc. , an amazing little film everyone should watch. The documentary shows how the big boys often use unscrupulous means to raise the food we all eat and also control who inspects them. The end result? Rampant e. coli in our meats and salmonella poisoning.

For safer and cleaner food, nothing beats the local producer, but there are also other health benefits to buying foods locally.

Grass Fed Beef and Milk

Both the beef and milk from grass fed cattle contains a natural source of omega 3 fats that are high in conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) that may actually help you lose weight. Grass fed beef and dairy products are also loaded with beta carotene and have far more of vitamins A and E. You also avoid the risk of mad cow disease by eating locally produced grass fed beef.

Free Range Eggs

Chickens who get a healthy diet of grass and bugs in addition to their layer ration will produce eggs that have less cholesterol and saturated fat as well as more vitamins and far better taste.

So think local rather than global the next time you're ready to stock your refrigerator shelves.

Dehydrate Your Own Healthy Foods!

Learn more.

What's New?

One reader wants to know if she can homestead an abandoned house. Read more.

Am I Allowed to Have Chickens and Goats in My Yard?

The answer is, it depends on where you live. Learn more.

Getting Started

A reader asks how she and her husband can start living off the land. Read more by clicking here.

Make Your Own Jerky

Dehydrate meat, and you have a healthy, low-cost beef jerky that can last up to a year or more if stored properly. Read more.

Save Money on Grocery Shopping

Save money on grocery shopping by learning to cook foods from scratch, and you not only improve your budget, but you can also dramatically improve your health. Read more.

Emergency Food Preparedness

Emergency food preparedness is something we all need to do, whether it's preparing for the loss of a job or a large-scale disaster. No matter where you're at in life, it's wise to start stocking up on food now. Learn more.

Butchering

One reader asks about how to butcher her own meat. Read more.

Raw Milk Benefits and Why You Should Be Buying Local Milk

Raw milk benefits are so huge that we did the world, and our health, a major disadvantage when we took Bessie out of the family farm and into the factory. Read more.

And as always, happy homesteading!

You Can Build a Chicken Tractor

Or save money and the environment by purchasing the e-book at the ridiculously low price of $7.95! Click here to learn more.