Local food growers want people to get better acquainted with how the edibles they consume are actually produced. During a panel discussion at Illinois Valley Community College to celebrate Earth Day Thursday, growers discussed their businesses and how local foods, particularly those grown without pesticides and other chemicals, can be better for consumer health and the environment.
"Our position is healthy food from healthy soil," said Jim Foxvog, part of Plow Creek Farm in Tiskilwa. "There are certain health benefits from eating organic-type foods, but the greatest benefit is to the earth and the people who work on farms."
Gerard Beach, owner of Foothills Organics in Utica, agreed. When both his parents and in-laws were diagnosed with cancer, he began to wonder what the connection was between the high percentage of chemicals likely found in their diets and their illnesses.
During the discussion, Beach held up some strawberries and a spray he asked the audience to pretend was a pesticide. Once he sprayed the strawberries, he said few people would want to eat them. He's done similar demonstrations with apples.
"And the conclusion is that you'd take the skin off the apple. But would you give it to a 2-year-old? Or a 3-year-old? Could you wash it off and feel comfortable that there is no chemical on it?" he asked.
Beach also said local growers can offer an alternative to places like Whole Foods, which he jokingly referred to as "Whole Paycheck." Some grocery stores, he said, have a 200 percent markup on organic products.
"I want to fight the trend that (organic foods) have to be expensive," he said.
Stefanie Loebach, an IVCC student on the panel, said she started eating organically after her mother became ill. She works at Foothills Organics and that has helped her learn more about healthy eating and gives her access to these kinds of foods. But it is tough, she said, during the school day.
"At school, there are obviously not a lot of healthy alternatives," she said. "If you see me around school, I have three bags: a bookbag, a purse and a lunchbag."
Pam Horwitz, executive director of the American Corn Growers Association, said local farmers played a big part in implementing a farm-to-school program in Bureau County. The school district purchased vegetables grown locally for the school lunch program, beginning with the current academic year.
The garden, which is slated for growth in the next three years, also will be used to show students where food comes from.
Such programs can help counties, like Bureau and nearby La Salle, where both obesity and unemployment rates are high. Growing produce to sell and eating healthy foods are both goals of these types of programs, she said.
"Any rural community, any small school district, can adopt a program like this," she said.
This year, the 672 daily hot lunches at the Bureau County school included a salad bar option to utilize the fresh vegetables and plans are continuing to expand to include more healthy alternatives.
Panel members agreed food production has a big impact on consumer health and the environment and citizens need to demand changes. "We live on this planet, but God made it," said Foxvog. "It's our job to take care of it."