Ethical Foodie Resources

[tree_woman]

I do a lot of preaching on this blog. I tend to rant and rave on a pretty sturdy soapbox, feeling angry about things. I don't always support my rants with actual practical advice or resources. Like yesterday, for example, I went off on "cage-free" eggs but didn't tell my dear Tree Huggers how to find better eggs. This kind of thing bothers people like my mother, who just want to know what the f*** to buy, for Chrissake, and don't need the lecture. "Jesus, Mary, and Joseph," she might say.

So what I'm doing today is offering a list of some of my favorite resources for ethical foodies. Feel free to add your own in the comments.

• Local Harvest lets you search for farmers' markets, CSAs, and organic food in your community. You can search by state, city, or zip code, and find out what's in season near you. Plus, you can search for other ethical stores and products by category (pet food, soap, coffee).
• FoodRoutes is a new and exciting discovery for me. Its passion is connecting you with local food. Like Local Harvest, it will locate farmers and farmers' markets for you. It's also very educational, with lots of resources, links, and ways to take action.
• The Organic Consumers Association is full of information on buying organic everything. It also has information on genetic engineering, rGBH, and progressive politics in general.
• The Ohio Ecological Food & Farm Association is for my fellow Ohioans. Here you can find Ohio farms committed to ethical practices. Many of them sell directly to consumers, exhibit at farmers' markets, and list the stores and restaurants they sell to.
• If a book is what you want, go out and read Jay Weinstein's The Ethical Gourmet right away. Then follow it up with The Omnivore's Dilemma. My mother just finished reading my copy, and loved it so much she asked if she could pass it along to two of her friends. Jesus Christ.