First Thoughts

Welcome and thank you for stopping by.

The Universe works on one simple principle. One-Hand-Washes-the-Other. SYMBIOSIS –

I help you and you help me and we both benefit. Can organic consumers and farmers become symbiotic too ?

Mother nature can sometimes teach these lessons better than human society. Look at the Red clover plant (Trifolium pratense). Like all other life on earth, the red clover needs NITROGEN, to grow and develop.

In the Okanagan Basin, where I live and eat; the soils have very low levels of nitrogen. What can the little clover plant do? How can it find the nitrogen it needs to grow strong and develop fully?

In the remote geological past; a bacteria called Rhizobia figured out how to take nitrogen from the air and change it into a form that could be used by plants (and the bacteria).

The Red Clover found a way to survive – let the Rhizobia bacteria live in it’s roots. The Red Clover benefits from the bacteria nitrogen. The Rhizobia benefits from the sugars sent to the roots from the plant leaves.

Working together for mutual self-benefit creates a long term win-win situation. Can organic consumers and organic farmers do the same?

Farmers need someone to buy their food and pay good prices.
Consumers need someone to grow their food and meet their expectations. People want food they can trust.

Organic consumers who buy directly from farmers get to know them as people and this creates a bond of trust.

Can we build on this trust to work more closely together to increase supply?

How can we get people moving towards these shared goals?

Well, we can start by realizing that consumers and farmers can work together for mutual self-benefit.

The Red clover plant figured out how to thrive by working with others. Can we humans learn this lesson, as well?