The importance of buying local
by Robin Rainbow Gate, November 2023
Based on a recent study, small farms (in Mexico) produce 15% of the national agricultural supply. With 26% of beef and 6% of pork coming from small farms.
The production of small farms consists mainly of cash crops (e.g. sugar cane, fruits & vegetables, animal products, fodder crops) and, to a lesser extent, staple crops such as maize and beans. The fact that small farms produce one fifth of the national production after decades of governmental support towards large farms suggests that they have resilient production systems. The results of this study support that stronger efforts should be made to enhance the role of small farms in achieving Mexican food sovereignty. This will not only have benefits in terms of food supply but may also have a wide range of social and environmental benefits.
Mexican studies on rurality have traditionally distinguished two large categories of farms: peasants and business farms [15, 16, 18]. Peasants (or small farmers) are usually defined as those that farm less than 2 ha or 5 ha of cropland, and as having specific characteristics such as consuming part of their production, relying on family labour, using few or no external inputs (such as inorganic fertilisers or pesticides), and having a low income [15, 16, 18]. Meanwhile, less than a quarter of farms (of any size) use organic fertilizers. This means that most crops are produced with inorganic fertilizers and without organic fertilizers across all farm sizes.
Benefits of Mexican small farms
Diverse benefits of Mexican small farms have been documented in the literature. Firstly, they contribute to national food security [19] and provide 60% of agricultural labour [14]. Yet, quantifications of the contribution of small farms to the domestic supply are lacking. The Mexican government estimates that small farms (<5ha) produce 40% of the country’s food supply [20], though they do not explain the methodology used to calculate this figure. Secondly, small farms contribute to agrobiodiversity, including genetic and food diversity, as well as associated cultural diversity [14, 15, 17, 21]. (Thidly,) Because they tend to maintain traditional agroecological practices, small farms are thought to be more resource efficient and hence more environmentally sustainable than larger farms [22]
Effect of Mexico´s agrarian reform after 1910
Mexico’s agrarian reform following the Mexican revolution in 1910 distributed almost half of the country’s land as communal land (ejidos) to small farmers [23]. With this, land tenure was recognized to indigenous communities resulting in (1) peasant’s food production as the basis of the national production, and (2) preserving traditional practices [23], unlike other Latin American countries which did not have extended agrarian reform and are characterised by unequal land distribution [24]. However, this tradition of peasant farming and small farms has been displaced, to a certain extent, by the green revolution of the second half of the twentieth century [25] and more recently by the impacts of the North American Free Trade Agreement [26].
Since the 1990’s, Mexican neoliberal reforms have focused on supporting large-scale and agroindustrial agriculture, thus displacing small farmers [15]. The federal government has recently started to revert this trend, with governmental programs supporting small farmers with technical and financial resources as a double strategy to reach national food sovereignty and to alleviate rural poverty [27, 28]. This strategy could be enhanced by robust and recent studies that analyse the characteristics of small farms, including their agricultural practices and the share of their production in the Mexican food supply to discuss their potential role, and changes needed, to reach Mexican food sovereignty.
Buying locally
Buying locally is key to redefining consumption and transforming it into a better and safer practice. These different local alternatives are ecological, sustainable and resilient and can connect us with our neighbors and our city in a meaningful way.
The pandemic affected the global economy and particularly small businesses whose income depends on local commerce. For this reason, as consumers we have much more power than we think, since by preferring local products we support economic development, but we also promote a sustainable lifestyle that includes health and care for the environment.
The benefits of local consumption, also called responsible consumption, start from environmental care by saving energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Means that transport products from distant places generate more emissions. In addition, the consumption of seasonal products favors the local economy and reduces the importation of products with their transportation. In terms of the economic benefits it brings, product traceability is much simpler when purchased locally, both in its creation, cultivation, production, treatment, storage and shipping. In addition, the market benefits because it encourages more competitors to exist, which leads to greater supply and eventual lower prices, which achieves greater accessibility for users and consumers. (excerpted from Diario Sustentable.)
My choice to support Rancho Las Iguanas since 2013
For me, eating and living and buying local is key to a sustainable, sane, connected lifestyle.
As resources dwindle and so many in the modern western world seem to be stubbornly invested in wasteful, insensitive uses of technology which provide comfort and speed but lack long term vision and wisdom, consuming and supporting local food sources appears increasingly important and necessary.
Besides the practicality of relying less on petroleum for the transport of locally produced food, there is the spiritual benefit of being consciously connected to where you live, the nature around you, and the disposition and generosity of local beings (plants and animals) to grow in the very soils where you live, utilizing the same air which you breathe, and the same water which falls from the sky to nourish and sustain all life.
It is this conscious relationship which brings greatest connection, awareness and harmoniously balanced living with a humble and significant sense of gratitude for the kindness and bounty from the earth, and for a sense of interconnectedness and belonging at the same time.
For these reasons, among many others, I feel that supporting the family farm of Rancho Las Iguanas is an important action I can take. By offering their meat, produced with so much thoughtfulness and integrity, I am helping to connect you to this fine source of animal based nourishment for those who desire and or need it, while helping you to imbibe nutrients from the very place where you live, for your greatest healthfulness and harmonious connection to place. All this while helping the environment and a local family indigenous to this land.
To your excellent health and well-being,
by Robin Rainbow Gate, November 2023
Based on a recent study, small farms (in Mexico) produce 15% of the national agricultural supply. With 26% of beef and 6% of pork coming from small farms.
The production of small farms consists mainly of cash crops (e.g. sugar cane, fruits & vegetables, animal products, fodder crops) and, to a lesser extent, staple crops such as maize and beans. The fact that small farms produce one fifth of the national production after decades of governmental support towards large farms suggests that they have resilient production systems. The results of this study support that stronger efforts should be made to enhance the role of small farms in achieving Mexican food sovereignty. This will not only have benefits in terms of food supply but may also have a wide range of social and environmental benefits.
Mexican studies on rurality have traditionally distinguished two large categories of farms: peasants and business farms [15, 16, 18]. Peasants (or small farmers) are usually defined as those that farm less than 2 ha or 5 ha of cropland, and as having specific characteristics such as consuming part of their production, relying on family labour, using few or no external inputs (such as inorganic fertilisers or pesticides), and having a low income [15, 16, 18]. Meanwhile, less than a quarter of farms (of any size) use organic fertilizers. This means that most crops are produced with inorganic fertilizers and without organic fertilizers across all farm sizes.
Benefits of Mexican small farms
Diverse benefits of Mexican small farms have been documented in the literature. Firstly, they contribute to national food security [19] and provide 60% of agricultural labour [14]. Yet, quantifications of the contribution of small farms to the domestic supply are lacking. The Mexican government estimates that small farms (<5ha) produce 40% of the country’s food supply [20], though they do not explain the methodology used to calculate this figure. Secondly, small farms contribute to agrobiodiversity, including genetic and food diversity, as well as associated cultural diversity [14, 15, 17, 21]. (Thidly,) Because they tend to maintain traditional agroecological practices, small farms are thought to be more resource efficient and hence more environmentally sustainable than larger farms [22]
Effect of Mexico´s agrarian reform after 1910
Mexico’s agrarian reform following the Mexican revolution in 1910 distributed almost half of the country’s land as communal land (ejidos) to small farmers [23]. With this, land tenure was recognized to indigenous communities resulting in (1) peasant’s food production as the basis of the national production, and (2) preserving traditional practices [23], unlike other Latin American countries which did not have extended agrarian reform and are characterised by unequal land distribution [24]. However, this tradition of peasant farming and small farms has been displaced, to a certain extent, by the green revolution of the second half of the twentieth century [25] and more recently by the impacts of the North American Free Trade Agreement [26].
Since the 1990’s, Mexican neoliberal reforms have focused on supporting large-scale and agroindustrial agriculture, thus displacing small farmers [15]. The federal government has recently started to revert this trend, with governmental programs supporting small farmers with technical and financial resources as a double strategy to reach national food sovereignty and to alleviate rural poverty [27, 28]. This strategy could be enhanced by robust and recent studies that analyse the characteristics of small farms, including their agricultural practices and the share of their production in the Mexican food supply to discuss their potential role, and changes needed, to reach Mexican food sovereignty.
Buying locally
Buying locally is key to redefining consumption and transforming it into a better and safer practice. These different local alternatives are ecological, sustainable and resilient and can connect us with our neighbors and our city in a meaningful way.
The pandemic affected the global economy and particularly small businesses whose income depends on local commerce. For this reason, as consumers we have much more power than we think, since by preferring local products we support economic development, but we also promote a sustainable lifestyle that includes health and care for the environment.
The benefits of local consumption, also called responsible consumption, start from environmental care by saving energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Means that transport products from distant places generate more emissions. In addition, the consumption of seasonal products favors the local economy and reduces the importation of products with their transportation. In terms of the economic benefits it brings, product traceability is much simpler when purchased locally, both in its creation, cultivation, production, treatment, storage and shipping. In addition, the market benefits because it encourages more competitors to exist, which leads to greater supply and eventual lower prices, which achieves greater accessibility for users and consumers. (excerpted from Diario Sustentable.)
My choice to support Rancho Las Iguanas since 2013
For me, eating and living and buying local is key to a sustainable, sane, connected lifestyle.
As resources dwindle and so many in the modern western world seem to be stubbornly invested in wasteful, insensitive uses of technology which provide comfort and speed but lack long term vision and wisdom, consuming and supporting local food sources appears increasingly important and necessary.
Besides the practicality of relying less on petroleum for the transport of locally produced food, there is the spiritual benefit of being consciously connected to where you live, the nature around you, and the disposition and generosity of local beings (plants and animals) to grow in the very soils where you live, utilizing the same air which you breathe, and the same water which falls from the sky to nourish and sustain all life.
It is this conscious relationship which brings greatest connection, awareness and harmoniously balanced living with a humble and significant sense of gratitude for the kindness and bounty from the earth, and for a sense of interconnectedness and belonging at the same time.
For these reasons, among many others, I feel that supporting the family farm of Rancho Las Iguanas is an important action I can take. By offering their meat, produced with so much thoughtfulness and integrity, I am helping to connect you to this fine source of animal based nourishment for those who desire and or need it, while helping you to imbibe nutrients from the very place where you live, for your greatest healthfulness and harmonious connection to place. All this while helping the environment and a local family indigenous to this land.
To your excellent health and well-being,