Actually, instead of getting mad – or in this case, even getting even – it's better to just not play the game.

Last week, I talked about big corporate agriculture and what it's done to American farmers and their families. It's one thing to start a family venture as an entrepreneur and through hard work and vision and good environmental stewardship and playing by the rules, make a nice living by providing something of value (like food) to folks in your community.

It's another thing when an operation becomes so big and powerful that it can set the rules and exert absolute control in ways that allow them to get even bigger – but cause real harm to everyone and everything else. I truly believe (and I think most of my fellow Americans of all stripes are with me on this) that anything that's "too big to fail" is too damn big to exist.

Sort of like dinosaurs. (If you remember, when the dinosaurs went extinct, it was small creatures that survived.) Problem is, what can we, as the "little folk," do about it?

Vote with your pocketbook, that's what. The federal government may be in bed with Monsanto, ADR and ConAgra – but so far at least, Congress hasn't passed a law forcing anyone to buy their products (although this is happening in some countries – such as India, where a law is under consideration that would make it a crime to even criticize GM Crops/Monsanto! Source)

You as consumers can help to kill off factory farms by starving them to death. The more you buy your food from local, sustainable farms, the better a place your community becomes. Now, I'll be straight with you - I like to profit from my labor. Some farmers, growers or ranchers might argue “I put a lot of lot of work into raising produce and meat for folks like you, and I deserve to make a good living at it.”  This is true. But unlike Monsanto, that's not most farmers, growers or ranchers only concern. Unlike the big corporations, I most ag folks have three bottom lines to think about – their own personal profits and operating expenses for sure, but also the health of the environment and the good of their neighbors and their community. When you buy directly from the farmer, more of the money goes toward taking care of him and his family instead of some big CEO's inflated salary, or a middleman or some oil company that sold the fuel that was needed to transport those goods a thousand miles or more.

And that's a good thing all around.

To their credit, some large grocery chains are starting to get more of their produce from local sources (within 100 miles). You can also visit a weekend farmers' market. These things are springing up all over the country, and they're about more than just good local food – artisans sell art and craft items, there's usually local entertainers performing, and it's just a good place to meet your friends and neighbors.

There's also what's called CSAs, or Community Supported Agriculture. This is something that is gaining real traction around big cities, and I'll tell you more about it next week.