I try to eat locally when and where I can, but it is very hard. As WhyNot says, it takes an incredible amount of work and money to do so. I find a lot of the gardening fun, so I do what I can. This most recent growing season, that was nothing on my own, but I had a share in a community supported agriculture group. The season before I hadn’t heard about one in my area, but I shopped the year round farmers market in the area (and recently read online that this is the first year there will be a year-round one here in Chicago). I also had a garden of my own, despite not having anything but a big patio to do it in.
Depending on where I am for this growing season, I will probably try again to grow my own food - to a degree.
I think this post by the folks at Eat Local Challenge may have some answers to some of these questions.
I won’t lie about this. I am far from perfect at any of this, but I do try. My first exposure to the idea of eating locally was years ago in Discover Magazine, then later in “Eat Here: Rediscovering Homegrown Pleasures in a Global Supermarket”. I think it’s a good thing to attempt, but I think (as the post above points out) the idea is less about making sure everything comes from within X miles of you and more about being aware of how your food comes to you. It is for me, at least. I still occasionally (and often in the middle of a move) eat what’s easiest, and I never demand someone cater to my wants, but I try to be aware.
Minor, minor nitpick. My understanding is that rather than any individual body of water, Chicago’s appeal came from the fact that the distance between the S branch of the Chicago River and the Des Plaines River is the most easily transversible “subcontinental divides” - between the Atlantic and Mississippi/Gulf of Mexico watersheds. I believe the elevation change between Lake Michigan and the DesPlaines is around 8’ or so (but I don’t have the info at my fingertips)…
Another very similar location would have been in NW IN - the St. Joseph’s River to the Kankakee IIRC.
What nobody seems to mention when talking about this book is how much the Kingsolvers had to do to get in a position to eat locally. They picked up from their home in Tucson and moved to a farm in (I think) Virginia. To me, that alone negated a lot of what she was trying to do in the book. She basically admitted that most people couldn’t possibly hope to eat locally without moving to a place where they could actually grow food through a large part of the year. I’d have been much more impressed if she’d just done it in Tucson, but I’m guessing that it would have been a huge hardship.
I was intrigued with the local eating thing at first, but overall I think it’s a goofy attitude that us rich first-world Western civilization types have latched on to as a way to make us feel like we’re getting back in touch with our roots. Civilization can definitely have some drawbacks, but being able to feed the masses through shipping food isn’t one of them.
My family and I do this already (we cheat on bread and flour, though). There are LOTS of Mennonite (or maybe Amish, not really sure) farmers around here (Middle Tennessee). It really isn’t that much more expensive for us, except for having to upgrade the size of the deep freeze and buy the canning supplies. It does require that more money be spent at a time, though. We buy a whole side of beef at a time rather than picking up a few cuts here and there. We are much happier doing this than the way we used to shop (Wal-Mart, etc.)
Athena, you may have a point about Kingsolver. I haven’t read the book, but it’s on my nightstand (a loaner from a friend). That said, though, the man I read about in Discover Magazine did eat from within his watershed and was in Arizona. I really, really wish I could remember more about it, so I could point someone to that issue, but it’s been about 7 years since I read the article, and I don’t have it any more through about 8 moves.
If this is ringing a bell with anyone, please let me know. The point is that it is possible to eat totally locally, even within a desert. Again, I don’t think I would, but it’s possible. If I can figure it out, I will post the information from that article.
I wouldn’t want to become a “Locavore”. I heard a story on NPR some time ago about a couple who did so for a year (I bet they’ve got a book out, too–doesn’t everyone? And a blog). The couple I heard about lived ( I believe) in Canada. Their biggest problems were lack of flour, sugar, coffee and hops. They eventually found someone who grew wheat, so they got flour. Sugar remained annoying–but many places have sugar beets.
But, at any rate, I don’t want to have to think that hard about my food. I’ll buy locally grown fruit and veggies when convenient–sometimes at farmer’s markets, sometimes at my local grocery store. I buy regionally produced cheese more often than national brands. I do give a passing thought or two to whether stuff is in season or not. But I like the flexibility of buying what appeals to me at the moment–and the convenience of mass produced bags of flour–for one example.
Missed the edit window, but a friend read my previous post and found the article. I haven’t reread it, but I wanted to get it posted for people to read.
I daresay you’re right about the meat, but where’s the proof that eating locally reduces greenhouse gases? This is one of those things that seems to stand to reason at first blush, but I would imagine that really efficient industrial agriculture might actually produce fewer greenhouse gases per pound of produce, even with cross-country shipping thrown in.
Great article! I lived in Phoenix with my wife for a while and loved it. We moved back to New Enlgand and I must admit, I miss the ability to get great produce locally just about year round.
We do our best and try to eat organically, and in the spring and summer months do a lot of shopping locally at farmers markets. but actually switching completely is very difficult, so I think we will have to remain envious of the southwest but happy for our seasonal local bounty.
100 Mile Diet, out of Vancouver. They restricted the spices also (apparently ended up making salt themselves from sea water iirc, after the year was up they relaxed that restriction).
I couldn’t do it. I don’t have the space to grow stuff, and the farmer’s market has lots of things but how much of their stuff is also local (I don’t know what flour the bakers use for example, I don’t think they grind it here though lots of wheat is grown in the province). I try to shop there as much as possible though. I don’t do canning, I don’t have the time to do it (I would if I could though! James, jellies, pickled beets, and canned peaches… mmm. Though peaches aren’t exactly local to me.)
Well, since this ain’t GQ, I’m going with fact by assertion for now. Also, local farming doesn’t exclude large scale, but it often does mean organic practices are followed, and no till keeps CO2 in the ground.
Pretty easily. I think we’re probably already 75% of the way there, and there is usually one month out of the year where I try to get as close to 100% as possible. Most of our dairy, cheese, produce, meat, beer, wine, bread, etc. is from local growers/ranchers/producers.
I’d never be a hardcore convert, but I’ve definitely made an effort to eat locally in the past few years and it’s paid off. The fresh organic veg from local farms is just a world away form what I was used to, and having food delivered forced me to actually prepare and eat food that was much more healthy than I was used to. Now I’ve got frozen berries, meat and veg to at least supplement my meals all winter (I would/will probably go local with staples if they become available).
I’ve been trying to eat more locally lately - this year I bought a CSA share, which in addition to giving you tons of seasonal, local, organic produce, is actually a hell of a deal. Also, it really challenged me as a cook - you find out on Wednesday that you suddenly have an assload of… kale. What to do? You figure it out.
That’s why I quit my CSA, to be honest. My 10 pound box was 3 pounds of kale, week after week. I don’t even particularly *like *kale, but I can hide it in a recipe here and there. But 3 pounds a week was just too much of a good thing.
I can see supporting local farmer’s markets in season. I hadn’t thought of it, but I will try to buy Wisconsin cheese from now on. But we drink skim milk–my neighbor’s brother owns a dairy farm not 10 miles from here–and he sends his milk to some cooperative in Michigan! It can be a lot harder than it seems to eat local. I have no idea where my eggs come from, or our meat. I’d like to think it all doesn’t come from too far away, but there’s no guarantee.
I worry more about the energy expended to get the food to my store rather than the health benefits eating locally supposedly imbues.
I agree. Individuals are too specialised these days. Once, we were all farmers (more or less), but tell that to the bus drivers, doctors, teachers, policemen, etc. PRoducing food is just one specialty of dozens, and there is no reason beyond romanticism why it need take place in your local area.
You wouldn’t do it for clothing or electronics, so why food?