FROM THE BOARD

Introducing Our Food For Thought Series

Do you ever feel curious about what it is we talk about in our board meetings?

Or wonder what are the real day to day rewards, challenges and puzzles in the lives of the farmers in our area who are working hard to provide safe, healthy, food to local residents and families?

What are the issues we grapple with, or are surprised to learn about when it comes to issues in organic food, economic and environmental sustainability and where our own Coop and community in Placerville intersect with these issues?

With these kinds of questions in mind, we are excited to begin a series of articles over the next months called, Food For Thought, in which we hear from our farmers and learn more together about important issues affecting food and farming.

We are fortunate to count three local organic farmers on our board who help bring our attention to current issues that we might not otherwise consider. At our board meeting this week, Craig Thomas brought our attention to one current debate in the world of certified organic farming: whether or not hydroponically grown food should be eligible for certification. The key issue (which you can read more about with the article link above) Craig explained is that hydroponically grown food (food grown without soil) doesn’t address the fact that, “growing and nurturing healthy soil has been a fundamental principle of organic farming and organic certification since its inception.”

The non-farmers at the table were surprised to learn that we might already be buying certified organic food that is grown hydroponically. My most important take-away from this conversation is that if we care about where our food comes from and how it’s grown, we have to continue to ask questions, even, or maybe especially, when we think we already know the answers.  

It’s an important part of our mission at the Placerville Coop to provide education on health, food, and sustainability. Y(our) current board members are excited to continue to learn more along with you as we open up conversations about issues that affect our community and the larger story of food production in our country and the world.