Last week Peter and I attended a Slow Money event and had a really great time!
For those of you who are not familiar with Slow Money (it’s new to us too)…
It is a national organization of experienced investors, leading food entrepreneurs, social investment pioneers, organic farmers and just plain old regular folks who are worried about where their investments are going. All of us believe that putting some of our money to work in local food enterprises makes tremendous sense—in terms of financial diversification, in terms of biological diversity, in terms of security, in terms of local resilience, in terms of addressing many of today’s most pressing health and environmental challenges.
As a food entrepreneur with a passion for supporting the local economy and concerned about the health of our society, slow money seems like a great solution!
There were so many amazing people gathered in one place. Some of our favorite food entrepreneurs, farmers, agriculture thought leaders and passionate people were there. Peter and I have this thing where we get really excited when we’re in our zone and let’s just say we were in our zone!
I wanted to write this post because you might be interested in getting involved with Slow Money; they have chapters all over and are always looking for passionate people to get involved.
And I wanted to share what I learned…..
5 things I Learned About Food, Farming and Entrepreneurs
1). Hydroponic farming isn’t the worst thing ever. It’s actually really cool and very sustainable, using 60- 80% less water than traditional farms! I am sorry I turned my nose up at hydroponic farming in the past :(If you want to learn more check out Go Green Agriculture. PS this is a family business and you might just fall in love with this family ;)
2). Farmers can’t catch a break. I never really thought about this but farmers pay the same amount of money we do for water here in California…even though they are growing all of our food. That seems ridiculous! It takes a lot of water to grow all those veggies in my fridge! They are currently working on a way to subsidize water for farmers and find ways to recycle and reroute water that can be used on the farms, both which would greatly decrease the cost of water for farmers. We are going to keep an eye on this!
3). Passion and inspiration is contagious! We met a lot of really passionate people at this event… but also a few lacking the passion. It’s hard to get excited about something if the person telling you about it is lacking enthusiasm!
4). San Diego doesn’t have a farmer’s market culture! Say what? I know, hard to believe with over 50 year round markets! But I kind of believe it, even though a lot of people frequent these markets, we know a lot who just don’t make time for it. Farmers markets are a great way to get the healthiest food into your homes, they’re great for supporting your local economy and even the environment… + 1000 more reasons!
5) There are people in the world with your health in mind! I’m a foodie and think about food a lot but I learned so much at this event. So many issues I had never considered were brought up and it was nice to know that these farmers and thought leaders are looking out for my best interest. Yes it supports them but it also supports me. Things like: organic farming, labeling GMOS, making it easier for farmers to sell their produce, tax break for farmers, health options in supermarkets all around the world, less driving for farmers, composting for homes and businesses. All of these things will benefit us, our health and the environment.
If you are interested in being an informed consumer, I recommend checking out slow money.
