Class in Food

From Winona, we headed back to Minneapolis for the peace prize forum! Before we could actually get home we stopped in Faribault and Northfield to visit farms that were very different from each other. First, we went to Faribault to visit the Living Green Farm where they practice aeroponic, which is where they grow plants in an air/ mist environment without using any soil. The lettuce grows 12 months a year, more than outdoor agriculture can do. They sell to bigger box stores, co-ops, Lunds and Byerlys, and Wal-Mart. Better for the large corporations, as they were consistent, available, and dependent whereas normal agriculture is not.
From Faribault, we headed to Northfield to visit Mainstreet Farm project. There they have a poultry farm with chickens that is mostly open fields that walk around the farm that has corn, trees, bushes, and other vegetation. The vegetation of the farm becomes very complex and the environment is not really controlled. The idea of the Main street project brings about this 4D model of looking further into the soil and not just what is being given on the external.
There was a lot of talk between me and my peers of how class selects your food in the food system. People with lower income would probably have to buy the mass-produced greens from Living Greens Farm where lacks the soil that provides a lot of the nutrients for the plants and we, the consumer,  would not get those expected nutrients from the plants. It is made year round and with a minimal amount of care for the plants, they are able to sell a massive amount of the product to big companies.  The Mainstreet Farm project is a small farm that sells to its local co-op. The Mainstreet Farm makes a diverse variety of the crops that are all organic. With such a high demand of care for such a small amount of crop, the prices for these products are higher than those would be at Living Greens Farm.

Living Greens Farm: http://www.livinggreensfarm.com/
Mainstreet Projects: https://mainstreetproject.org/