EVER heard of Farmer John? He's the kooky guy who farms organically in the US and this year toured a film around Australia about how he saved his family farm.
You can buy the Farmer John DVD, cookbook and music CD from his website.
Farmer John is a brand now. He's inventive.
His business slogan is Know Your Food, Know Your Farmer.
I reckon it works equally well the way other around too: Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food.
Not everyone wants to know their food.
Some are happy to go to the shop, bring it home and eat it, sometimes cooking it a little beforehand, without asking where it comes from.
But others like to know more about what goes on in the paddock where our food is grown or in the factory where our food is ground and packaged.
I'm one of those types.
And I know there are many more because some Saturdays I sell my friends' cheese at farmers' markets and we get peppered with questions: how is the cheese made, why do you use ash, is that animal or vegetable rennet you use, where do you get the rennet, why is the milk low now, the cheese tastes different now - is that because it's spring/summer/autumn/ winter, what do you feed the goats, why does the doctor say I shouldn't eat soft cheeses when I'm pregnant?
The questions make me think about what happens on the farm and how that influences the cheese people eat.
Similar questions occur to me on my morning walks when I pass a crop of wheat: what fertiliser did the farmer use, how does s/he manage weeds, why plant wheat there this year instead of something else, what's the soil like, where is the seed from and what did it cost, was there a patent fee involved, what is the grain's destiny once harvested - will it be stored or has it been forward sold, what grade will it be, how will the weevils be kept out and where might the wheat finish up?
I've watched the crop change and grow and rise and sag with the heat and the wet.
And I'm hoping there'll be something in it for the farmer even after all this rain.
Some might brand me a sticky beak for such curiosity but it occurs to me that in fact there, sitting in the paddock, is a great educational opportunity.
How many of us know what's going on in the farms in our areas?
How many of us have asked farmers to come along to our community group to explain what they grow and how they grow it and why they grow it that way?
If we're looking for ways to support each other - here's one.
We can educate ourselves in the process and as we learn more and talk about local farming more, hopefully we will come to appreciate and respect those who grow the food around us a whole lot more.
Start by asking questions about tomorrow's lunch.
Happy Christmas.
