The other night I attended a talk on how to eat local in the winter. What I was looking for was a few suggestions on what is grown or produced in Montana
She spoke of getting a bucket of bones from a local farmer and accused the Hutterites of being on the same level of Tyson. One woman asked if anyone knew where to find a slab of backfat (I’m trying to lose mine). When the subject of the government forbidding average citizens from obtaining raw milk came up, I felt like I was back in Oklahoma
I politely excused myself ninety minutes into the talk. I left feeling inferior to these extremely dedicated women. I was just looking for some tips on how to support the local economy while eating healthy. They wanted to storm Wal-Mart like the villagers stormed Dr. Frankenstein’s lab.
Then I headed over to the James Bar to meet my husband where I had, if not all local food, at least locally made food and after telling him what a wackjob this woman seemed to be at first, I relaxed a little and realized it was my own personal guilt talking. I decided to give myself, and her, a break. I truly admire her dedication and I’m glad there are people out there that take the time to pursue their passions and work to make local food more accessible to the not so zealous citizens of Montana
All you can do is what you have time for and what makes you happy. While I might not be up for sucking the marrow out of locally raised cow bones, I do shop at the Farmer’s Markets, I look for Montana made and grown produce, meat, eggs, milk and other foods when they are available and all those give me a happy feeling knowing I am supporting my local farmer, rancher and food producer when possible and feeding my body healthy foods at the same time.
