Carina Stufflebeam (left), 10, walks with her mother, Jenny, as she carries a bin of freshly cut basil on the family’s 12-acre farm Thursday, July 12, 2007, in Brenham. The Stuffelbeam farm is part of a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) organization started by the Jewish Community Center in Meyerland, where community members pay the family ahead of the growing season for a share of the harvest each week. Members in the CSA meet once a week. (Johnny Hanson / For the Chronicle)

Local, sustainably raised food is a wonderful phenomenon. Unlike a zero-sum approach where if X wins, then Y loses, local sustainable agriculture creates a win-win-win. It means clean air and water, restoration of our precious topsoil, habitat for wildlife, humane treatment of animals, fair income for farmers, healthy food for consumers, and a boost to our local economies. Or, at least, it could – if it ever gets past the stage of, at best, government bias and ignorance and, at worst, government-industry attacks. Read more →