It seems like everywhere you turn these days, folks are dropping the word “sustainable.”

Searching for a sustainable lifestyle, those who can afford it are building sustainable houses and furnishing them with sustainable appliances. Outside, sustainable landscaping lines driveways leading up to garages that house a variety of vehicles, some of which are more sustainable than others.

While I understand the sentiment behind the term “sustainable,” its overuse makes me skeptical. Merrium-Webster and I agree that “sustain” means to “supply with sustenance, to nourish,” also “to keep up, to prolong.” Sustainable agriculture, in its most narrow sense then, is farming that nourishes the soil and ecosystem over a prolonged time period.

But the meanings of words often change.

For the better part of 20 years, I’ve peddled my vegetables at the local farmers market under the name Roaring Lion Organics. In the early years, customers were leery of the word “organic” and often asked me to explain its meaning.

In a narrow sense, “organic” meant “grown without the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides.” To organic farmers, of course, the word “organic” had a much deeper meaning.

Despite the shortfalls in a one word definition, a handful of us local produce growers, mostly in western Montana, took great pains (and spent a lot of money) to certify our crops and farming methods as organic.

But when the U.S. Department of Agriculture took control of the organic certification process, as well as the word “organic,” about a decade ago, giant corporate farms like Del Monte jumped on the organic bandwagon. For many local growers who embraced the entire philosophy behind organic agriculture, the term “organic” lost much of its luster.

Changing labels

In 2005, setting a trend that was eventually emulated nationwide, a group of local Montana farmers eschewed the “organic” label and formed the Montana Sustainable Growers’ Union. Adhering to the same standards as certified organic farms, MSGU members chose to focus on the relationship between growers and customers, thus enhancing the value of community and a local economy.

The MSGU provided, and still provides, a local, accessible alternative to organic certification, as well as encouragement for small, local producers and their customers. Members sign a 10 point pledge that includes using no synthetic chemicals, using sustainable management practices to enhance the ecosystem, treating livestock humanely, enhancing biodiversity as well as the local economy, and actively working to promote the ideals of the Growers’ Union.

The Montana Sustainable Growers’ Union is still going strong and adds new members every year. Local farmers and gardeners who use sustainable practices are currently riding a tide of popularity. Consumers today, like no time in the last 50 years, are embracing local, eco-friendly agriculture for all it’s worth.

Farmers markets are booming, and new ones are sprouting up like weeds after a rain. In general, the demand for fresh, local produce exceeds the ability of most farmers to grow it. Locally grown food is nourishing the people who grow it and eat it, and sustainable agriculture is nourishing the ecosystem as well as the local economy.

But despite the current successes with local agriculture, most people in our communities do not enjoy a diet that nourishes their body and sustains good health. Childhood obesity and diabetes are at an all-time high. Fast-food restaurants serving unhealthy food prosper while Mom and Pop grocery stores struggle to survive. Communities without grocery stores and without farmers markets are drying up.

Millions of people living in cities and rural areas alike have no access to fresh fruits and vegetables. Poverty in America and the rest of the world is on the rise.

A sustainable solution

So what can we, as a culture, do to reverse this downward nutritional spiral? The answer, I believe, lies in our own backyards and is part of a trend that has already begun.

Spurred by a stagnant economy and high fuel prices, plenty of folks who haven’t gardened in years have peeled back some sod and sown the seeds of sustainability. Corn, tomatoes and squash are making a comeback on the urban landscape! Rooftop gardens in major cities are providing produce to local restaurants!

More importantly, seniors, single folks and families are growing a portion of their food. All over the Missoula and Bitterroot valleys, small gardens are plentiful. Victor school has vegetables as a part of its landscaping. I’m even growing a field of onions on the property of a neighbor who is happy to see some of his acreage growing food!

My own garden –admittedly bigger and more demanding than most – provides our family with a higher quality of life: We eat fresh fruits and vegetables every day without spending money on them; we sell our excess produce, earning extra income for our family; and my daughter and her friends frolic in an outdoor classroom, learning lifelong lessons with Mother Nature as their teacher.

The money I spend on my garden, for tools, seeds and garden supplies, benefits the local economy. And the experience my daughter gleans from selling at the farmers market provides her with hands-on business experience.

Gardening, of course, is not for everyone. But if more people had home gardens, our communities would be healthier, more stable economically, and more neighborly.

Your local county extension office has plenty of information about growing fruits and vegetables in Montana, and now is the time to start planning your garden for next year.

Outside inspiration

A great place to get inspired about local agriculture is the upcoming annual meeting of the Alternative Energy Resources Organization (AERO) in Helena. AERO has been building communities by linking people, sustainable agriculture and energy solutions since 1974.

Its 36th annual meeting will be held October 22 – 24 at the Lewis and Clark County Fairgrounds in Helena. Keynote speaker for the event is Wes Jackson, founder and president of The Land Institute in Salinas, Kansas.

Wes Jackson will speak at 10 am on Saturday, October 23, in a talk titled “Ecosystem as the Necessary Conceptual Tool for Future of Quality Human Life on this Land.”

For more information about AERO and its annual meeting, call 406-443-7272 or go to aeromt.org.