Food for thought

After reading Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle a few months ago, I have been thinking more about eating food grown and produced locally, but haven’t done as much to truly put it into practice as I could. In this nonfiction narrative the Kingsolvers commit to eating only foods grown on their own small farm or locally for one year, with the exceptions of olive oil, grains, and spices. I must say Kingsolver is one of my favorite authors, and it was after reading her novel, Prodigal Summer, several years ago that I really started contemplating pesticide use and the widespread effects on not only food, but ecosystems and the environment. She has sort of been an impetus for thought and change for me. My focus thus far has been on healthy, whole, organic food as much as possible. Now adding locale into the equation can make things a bit trickier, particularly in the winter months.

I was looking at our meal last night, which consisted of BLT’s, corn on the cob, fried eggplant(not the healthiest - but oh my goodness, so yummy!), and peaches and blackberries and ice cream for dessert. All of the produce was bought locally at the Farmers’ Market – very easy to do in August in Missouri. The eggs are from a local farm, the wild berries picked by my sister-in-law and the ice cream was from a local dairy. The things that were not local: bacon, bread, crackers, and condiments such as mayonnaise and horseradish. While I don’t see myself making my own mayonnaise, I know that I can work on seeking out local sources of meat, and bread(or even attempt making it myself). From supporting your local economy to cutting down on pollution resulting from transporting food items, the reasons to buy locally grown and produced food are indeed numerous. While I don’t think I can commit to eating only local foods for a year as the Kingsolvers, I can consider eating a few local meals per week, and to shop mindfully.