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 According to the post above, it sounds like our carbon foot print was pretty minimal considering everything we got to see and learn. A few things stuck out to me as being interesting. I feel like so far during this course we have all been pushing hard for organic, local, animal friendly farming. It was interesting to hear a variation of this argument. Although I don't completely buy the fact that his non-organic plants are fairly equivalent to other organic plants, I think he made a good case in saying that obtaining the organic certification isn't worth the trouble and that since some of his produce are organic, it proves that he does care about the quality of his food. That being said, he seemed pretty practiced in the art of convincing people that organic isn't all too important, but more shop local. 

I really liked the care that he put into his farm. Because he only has a few workers, it sounds like he puts a lot of his own labor into making sure his plants are treated well and his connection with his cows seems impossible to refute. He was practically in love. In addition, I found the compost pile very interesting. It was stinky and gross - yes - but the amount he had collected and the use of it in his farm will be a lot. In those respects, I really liked the visit.

Finally, I love the cheese I bought. In fact, I finished it all on saturday. Kudos to Pete for buying good cheese. We talked a little about this during class but I think it's a great thing that he offers other selections of food in his shop. It would be even more of a waste of carbon if shoppers had to go other places to buy the break that goes along with their tomatoes. Having it all in one place in a way justifies the drive. (although someone had to get it to the store and I'm not sure how much of a carbon footprint that would be).

Going back to the idea of trust that was the theme in our last week, I found Pete to be much of a sale's man. It made me not trust what he was saying. He seemed to be trying to convince us more than educate us, although there was for sure some of both. 

Regardless, it was worth it!