"I wish I could grow my own food!"
There is plenty of clever ways to get a hold of some land to grow food on! I was involved with a start-up idea a number of years ago called 'garden-space' , essentially it was like air-bnb for gardeners and land-owners. But the key here is to find someone with land, that isn't being used (towns and cities are often accepting to this idea as well) and present them with a simple proposal for growing food on it. Often this is massively popular, it increases land value as it becomes more fertile and more beautiful, also it provides food (which you can offer in exchange for use of the land, so you don't have to pay money). I have found (when researching for the start-up) that nearly everyone I talked to about lending some of thier land to have someone else grow food, in exchange for a part of the food grown, they were all in favour of it! Who would want a basket of fresh food right from thier own land every week or so?! That way you get use of land, it's not as ideal as owning your own land, but it works! Also, there are a few large scale market gardeners using this exact model, turned it into a full time job using lots of peoples land and is turning over 6 figures profit annually (in canada). It's highly lucrative as it cuts out many farmers biggest expense (owning land). Which, could be a great idea for you if you say farmers markets aren't that big there (it's a trend growing globally) you could lead it.
So, if you wish you could do it, there is a way you could not just 'do it' but get all your food grown (reducing your expenses) and grow valuable food. It wouldn't be a far stretch to say you could make a reasonably profitable living doing it! Just an idea :)
I also don't drink milk, I was addicted to it (seriously, like half gallon a day for 20 years), but I cut it out and never looked back. The few times I have tried to re-introduce it I have become immediately sick (might be a bit mental as well, but it also occurs when I didn't know milk existed in the meal, pre-sickness). So, I haven't tested the 'organic' theory. Though for me, I believe it would have to be raw to contain the proper enzymes for digestion, I would only do this if I lived in a climate (like russia) opposed to the tropics as I do.
When I say eat local, this is in reference to what 'can' and 'does' grow locally during specific local season. Not necessarily what evolved in your local area of the course of millenia. If something can and does grow locally, when it ripes in your local climate and season is when I believe it is best. For a 'scientific' approach to this it's understood that we evolved along food eating it when it was ripe and when it was available. We didn't need to know why certain foods ripened in certain seasons, what effects those certain foods combinations had at that time or any of it. We simply ate what was there to eat. So, if something grows in your climate (regardless of where it was originally from) when it ripens in that climate. Eat it.
Also, there is a whole host of other benefits of eating food grown in your environment. One example, in new zealand the ozone layer has been damaged and more radiation goes in. Many people in new zealand are sensitive to burning because of this. However, what is also noted is that many plants grown in New Zealand have been shown to have a higher antioxidant count than the same plants grown in other environments. Long story short, this is attributed to the plants creating defenses themselves for the UV radiation and when we eat those plants we get a higher amount of antioxidants to help us in that environment cope with the higher radiation as well.
Yes that's what I meant, raw milk.
Interesting ideas! I'll keep them in mind! I know someone who owns land who doesn't use it. There's olive trees there, and he just lets them go to waste. Don't know if there's room for anything more, but at least one could get some free olive oil!
Thanks for taking the time to write these replies!