Farmers markets are the way of the future. Paying the oil companies to transport our food across the country is neither healthy nor sustainable. Locally grown foods help our community in many ways. They allow us to shop with our family and discover the fruits and vegetables that are local to our area.

In this video, I toured the Santa Monica Farmers Market with Dr. Jason Deyo. We got to try produce from various vendors and really enjoyed being out there with these wonderful people. It is important to talk with the person who grows your food. We don’t get that in the supermarket. True, it may take a bit more time to peruse the market amongst all the signs and banners, but it is healthy community time. You get to see your neighbors and enjoy the open space. My wife and I allow a couple hours every Sunday for the Farmers market. We see the neighbors and enjoy the ritual of hand-picking the fruits and vegetables we enjoy the rest of the week. It is valuable family time.

The Farmers Market movement is helping individuals attain health and really break free of the conveyor belt model where we buy processed garbage from the supermarket and then need drugs to deal with the illnesses we inherit from poor lifestyle. People who eat well have more energy for fitness, and, in effect, have more time in life because they have less down time due to illness. People argue that the produce is too expensive but if you factor in the price of healthcare needed from taking in toxic materials from the store, it is a bargain. We have to consider all of the advertising that goes into trying to convince us that shopping for the items in boxes or wrapped in plastic is somehow good for us. These companies are in the business of selling their products and the consumer has to be aware of the marketing ploys that are designed to fool us into thinking that their food is OK. Ask the farmers what growing food is like and look at the differences between local organic and agribusiness practices.

Dr. Deyo likes teaching people how to cook so that we are helping ourselves get better with each meal. We customers vote with our dollars. Healthy foods with the nutritional value to sustain people and help them thrive are the way out of our healthcare crisis and into a new model of abundance and health. We are big fans of farmers markets here at Well.Org and actively encourage you to find a local one.

Here’s a list of markets throughout the country- http://well.org/wellness-resources/farmers-markets/