MISC MARKET NOTES

Have you ever run across a phrase, an idea, a piece of music, book or article call to you then latch on once you answered the call? If you’ve lived long enough there’s a good chance you’ve had that experience. This writer has several times. Many years ago a book practically leaped off the shelf into my hands – in the end it helped shape the lives of my children and the generations that will follow. Another time a song by an artist I considered offensive gripped my heart and helped me get through a difficult few years. A side benefit is that now I occasionally enjoy that loud annoying music at the top of my lungs when nobody is listening.

I have no clue where what follows will take myself or anyone else, but it’s been so beautiful and encouraging that I hope you’ll be blessed as well. This is from 6 Powerful Lessons from Japan that Helped Me Heal My Health.

1. Find one or two contaminating habits to quit. You don’t have to overhaul your life – just figure out a couple of things you could give up that would improve your life.

2. Go on walks. The more you walk, the better you feel and the longer you live. Workouts are fine for focused improvements, but they don’t provide the mental, emotional or long term benefits of walking. One region of Japan was able to reverse their high stroke rate by incorporating walk routes.

3. Forget progress, focus on the immediate payoff. The immediate payoff when you do physical work or walk or move is that you FEEL GOOD.

4. Embrace convenience. I found this section on Bento Box (food) culture intriguing as it had to do with balancing beauty and nutrition with microwave convenience.

5. Go Outside. Every chance you get. If you need to sit and read, do it outside. If someone comes to visit, sit on the porch. “Spending time in nature has proven health benefits, such as strengthening your immune system, lower levels of mortality and illness, decreased anxiety, and increased self confidence. “

6. Choose moderation over perfection. While this article doesn’t go into depth, the author does advocate Harahachi-bunme which is a a long-standing Japanese saying that directly translates to “8/10ths your stomach”; meaning, you should only eat until you are 80% full.

If you wish to look deeper this Medium Digest article can be found with the link below.

Avalon Farms:

It’s that time of year, the farm calendar seems to compress and there’s more to do every day. We are getting ramped up for summer farmers market. Started the 2nd succession of assorted squash and cucumbers using my “staby” planter. These went into plastic covered beds due to weed pressure. Snacked on the very first Sugar Snap Peas. Delicious as always!

Potatoes are blooming. Some say that means the tators are sizing up. Oh, and the first baby tomatoes! Which are already on an 8 ft trellis. Yay us, because we frequently run behind on that trellising chore.

Rather than continue to be a pest asking folks to contact their elected officials below is an email I recently sent one of our Representatives. Feel free to use it as a springboard for your own correspondence:

To:
anthony.daniels@alhouse.gov
Fri 4/21/2023 5:39 PM

Dear Sir,
As the manager of a very tiny organic farmer’s market in Dothan (marketatdothan.com if you care to look it up) I’m more than a little familiar with health from a nutritional standpoint.  Last year when my husband ran for Senate we agreed that should Alabama ever consider a grocery tax reduction that foods you can buy tax free RIGHT NOW from a state sanctioned farmer’s market should be tax free in a grocery store.
 
Norman lost the primary so nothing ever came of that idea, but it’s been encouraging to see strong support for a grocery tax reduction this legislative session.
 
Using WIC as a guideline is closer to the farmer’s market definition than SNAP which I know you favor.   Please consider the following:
 
1. Snap includes the unhealthy foods that has contributed to Alabama’s obesity problem.  Carbonated beverages, empty calorie foods like chips,  a multitude of foods containing high fructose corn syrup (a leading factor to high cholesterol but nobody wants to talk about Coke and Pepsi leading to strokes and heart attacks) . . . . I could go on but you get the idea.
2. Our state has been educating people to eat healthy as long as I can remember (I’m 65 if that tells you anything.)  IT HAS NOT WORKED.   Eliminating tax on healthy food would give people a financial incentive to choose a piece of fruit over a pack of cookies when they have a choice.  At least if they go for the cookies the tax could go toward Medicaid . . . which they could wind up needing.
3. Ideally incentivizing healthy food purchases could eventually lower overall health care cost in the state.
 
Thank you kindly for your time and attention.  And think about this the next time you go into a convenience store and watch what people set on the counter to purchase for their travels. 
 
Roslyn Horton
Newville, Alabama

Don’t Forget . . .

We look forward to seeing you next Friday at one of our pickup locations. Thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible!