As Americans, a lot of us think of voting as something we do once every four years, but in fact we’re voting every day with our dollars. John Kinsman, a Wisconsin dairy farmer and president of Family Farm Defenders, puts it this way: “Every time you spend money on food, you are voting for the world you want.”
It’s hard to deny the convenience of supercenters like Walmart and Target, and at home or on the road it’s always easier to spot a Red Lobster or Golden Corral than the mom and pop hole-in-the-wall cafe. But the dollars we spend really do make a difference, because we’re supporting the places we give them to. So if you want more independently owned local businesses that give back to their community, if you want a regional landscape dotted with small family farms, if you want better access to fresh, locally-grown heirloom peppers, you know what to do: Vote!
