Janie Burns has been promoting the benefits of local foods and farmers' markets for a quarter century. She is the owner of Meadowlark Farms and Homegrown Poultry, and is a co-founder of the Tomato Independence Project and the Treasure Valley Food Coalition.
You spent your career in the military. And then decided to get your fingers and boots really dirty. What led you to become a farmer?
I was raised on a farm. I thought that I could raise food that was different and better than that in the grocery store. I was also under-employed and needed to make some money and do something useful with my life. How hard could it be?
I know you raise lamb for market at Meadowlark Farms. (Editorial confession: It's delicious. Especially the rack.) What else goes on there?
I've tried to grow a lot of diversity that creates an ecosystem that works 24/7, sometimes with my help (better without). The sheep, chickens, geese, grass, compost, soil organisms, and countless other actors all work together in ways I don't understand. If you are very, very still, you can hear the place humming.
So what's the change you're trying to make in the world?
Making our communities more resilient and self-reliant, especially around food and agriculture.
You've been selling at farmers markets for a long time, since 1989. How have farmers markets changed since you first started?
The customer has become much more sophisticated and knowledgeable. Markets are also becoming more than just a place to buy and sell. They are community places.
Speaking of farmers markets, you've recently made a really big change—can you tell us about it?
I walked away from the Capital City Public Market, a staple in Boise's Saturday life that I helped start in 1994, to help create a brand new farmers market. What a gamble! Most people could not understand why anyone would walk away from success. I learned that success can be seductive and blind you to the changes you need to make.
What's the biggest change you've made in your personal life recently?
Saying “no” more often to things and people that are not joyful.
Change is hard—any tricks you'd like to share for making it easier?
I try to envision the place where I'd like to end up and think imaginatively about the most logical path to get there. Sometimes it takes a long time and a lot of thinking, so I don't get upset with myself for not being quick about it. It rarely works out exactly the way I plan it, but it always works out for the best. You have to have faith that it will be OK. Or as the old saying goes: “Pray to God, but row to shore,” meaning: have faith, but do the darn work.
If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be?
Get rid of the lust for power and money. It's killing the only planet we have.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
Be less of a procrastinator.
What's the best thing about your current jobs?
I get to hang out with positive people involved in good work. I am so lucky.
Let's go back to the local food movement. Can you tell people why local foods are important no matter where they live?
A handful of corporations control over half of the food on the grocery shelves. We have no say in what is in those foods, how they are grown, or anything about them. You can exert a lot of control over food grown locally, from your own garden crops to the grocery just because you are closer.
You helped launch the Tomato Independence Project last year. Why?
I think people are tired of being told what they have to accept in life. For some reason, we believe we have to have fresh tomatoes on our January plates. They are awful! What a waste of money and taste buds. Tomatoes are an easy thing to grow, everyone knows when they are ripe, and they are delicious. Let's love them when they are in season and say “No Thanks” when they aren't.
So, got a favorite tomato variety?
Striped German for drip-off-your-chin goodness.
What are you reading right now?
Just finished 1493. ReadingBeautiful Corn and A Distant Mirror by Barbara Tuchman.
Listening to?
Brahms and Aimee Mann.
Watching?
Downton Abbey like everyone else, plus MASH.
Who inspires you?
People who use words eloquently to create change: Lincoln, Wendell Berry, Martin Luther King, Gandhi, Michael Pollan.
Favorite color?
Blue
Favorite time of day on the farm?
Middle of the night in the winter when I check the ewes for new lambs. It's serene and peaceful. Night creatures like foxes and owls are out. There's something wondrous about the quiet.
Who are you following online?
Michael Moore, Bill McKibben. Love the tweets of food system thinkers like Marion Nestle,Tom Philpott, and Michael Pollan.
Who is the most progressive nonprofit or business leader you know?
Woody Tasch of Slow Money.
What's one question you'd like to ask yourself—and answer?
Where is all the free time you used to have?