| July 2,
2004: For almost 20 years, Farm Aid www.farmaid.org
has helped to raise national awareness about the plight of the
family farmer at the hands of industrial agriculture and poor
government policy.
Recognizing that those who eat—and
buy—food hold the real keys to change, the organization
headed up by Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp, and
Dave Matthews has gotten more proactive about educating consumers
to make informed choices.
Farm Aid’s new booklet 10 Ways to Ensure Healthy
Food for You and Your Family outlines 10 action steps
ordinary citizens can take to bring the healthiest and most
nutritious food possible to their tables, support family farmers
and the environment, and create meaningful relationships that
strengthen communities. Of course—as even the uninitiated
will discover during this quick and accessible read—these
things are all connected.
The “10 Ways” include
- “Know your food (by asking questions and reading
labels)
- Be an active food shopper (by encouraging purveyors to
buy local and organic)
- Ensure that your food dollars support family farmers
(by seeking out “local” labels, shopping at
a farmers market or joining a CSA
- Get to know a family farmer
- Teach children how to grow [and prepare] food
- Bring food and farm issues to your community (by creating
local teaching and learning opportunities)
- Strengthen local support for farmers (by getting schools
and other institutions to “buy in” to the local
food concept)
- Get involved in grassroots efforts
- Demand democracy in our food systems (by encouraging
elected representatives to support a system that produces
safe and healthy food, not one that lines the pockets of
corporate agriculture)
- Become a food and farm activist
Action steps and resources follow each of the suggestions
offered in this concise, direct and empowering primer. 
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