In Business, Creating Sustainable Enterprises & Communities

LEARNING TO EAT LOCALLY

In Business, November-December, Vol. 29, No. 6, p. 10

Finding the power to regain what has been lost … turns a grassroots movement into a healthier future.

Nancy Roulston and Larraine Roulston

ALISA SMITH and James MacKinnon - authors of the national best seller, “The 100-Mile Diet: A Year of Local Eating” - recently spoke in Nelson, British Columbia on their Kootenay book tour. They immediately captured everyone's enthusiasm with a friendly, light-hearted approach to a looming dilemma.
The pair wove the audience through unique hardships and inspiring endeavors in choosing to eat food harvested within a 100-mile radius of their Vancouver apartment - a challenge that was conceived by one beautiful meal and one ugly statistic!
While staying a few days at their remote northern cabin, the young couple were not prepared to feed the surprise arrival of company. Without a megamart at their fingertips, the small group, upon arrival, decided to rummage about the landscape and bring back what they could find. Thus one beautiful meal began, for at the end of the day, all sat down to a catch of Dolly Varden char, hedgehog mushrooms, baby dandelion leaves, apples and sour cherries from an abandoned orchard, garlic and potatoes that were turned up from a neglected garden plot and a variety of herbs. When simmered together, the freshly gathered dinner was not only surprisingly delicious but also full of nutrients that were not lost in days of transport.
Upon returning home to Vancouver, the couple began reviewing several of their old press releases regarding the exporting and importing of foods. The ugly statistic, provided by the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University, revealed that the food we eat typically travels between 1,500 and 3,000 miles from farm to plate. In addition, the distance had increased by up to 25 percent between 1980 and 2001, when the study was published. Environmentally conscious Alisa and James were confronted with the fact that even they were on an SUV food diet. On the first day of spring 2005, their challenge got underway!
Ground rules were established which included a few allowances. Not wanting to be wasteful, they decided that food presently in the fridge and cupboards could be eaten; however, once depleted, only local fruits, vegetables, beverages, as well as all ingredients, as in breads, must be of local origin. They were off the hook to enjoy dinner if invited out or when attending a business luncheon. As well, when travelling, local food could be purchased to bring home.

LUCK ON THEIR SIDE
While determining the 100-mile boundaries, luck seemed to be on their side. Vancouver, blessed with mild winters and abundant rainfall, has a rich fertile soil delta; the Pacific Ocean laps upon its shores while mighty rivers nearby are renowned for salmon fishing. The Fraser Valley itself boasts wildlife and a variety of bountiful orchards. Also, their 100 miles encompassed Washington State, which allowed them to explore new territory. At first glance, this challenge seemed relatively easy.
But the sad truth of the matter lies in the fact that our society has evolved into a global economy. Today, farmlands typically specialize in only a few crops and we rely upon multi-national companies to provide our “daily bread.” Truckers transporting one area's produce away, toot horns at vehicles bringing both similar and exotic cargo from another agricultural region afar. We have grown away from eating seasonal local foods, and in doing so have lost our diversity and the ability to feed ourselves. As well, today's youngsters are now at least four generations away from the skills and knowledge of hunting, gathering and preserving.
“The 100-Mile Diet” takes a look at the homesteading days of Canada's forefathers and unfolds the variety and abundance of what has been lost in a single lifetime. The authors also note the present detrimental economic and environmental facts, which include China's intent to become a future world food exporter.
On the bright side, Alisa emphasizes the personal satisfaction derived both in planting vegetables as well as in knowing where each item on one's plate is grown. She shares recipes and explains how to make sauerkraut, should you wish to tackle a similar endeavor.
James stated, “A year of local eating was a lifestyle experiment that challenged Alisa and I to explore, and explore deeply, the idea of local eating.”
It is one thing to feast only on local seasonal foods, as our collective grandparents did in an era when grain was bought from a nearby mill, small farms were abundant, everything was made from scratch, preservatives were the norm, root cellars popular and cooks were imaginative with the same vegetables. To eat only locally at a time when you must search for what may still be harvested close by, do without common staples and treats and be tempted by the array of global food displays on every city block, is quite another. Furthermore, Alisa and James survived in excellent health when it was nearly impossible to do so.

LEVEL OF AWARENESS
Since the couple began posting information on the Internet, over 10,000 people in every Canadian province and every US state have become members on their website: 100milediet.org. Their adventure raises the level of awareness as well as an appreciation for food. They encouraged us to make more local, organic and seasonal choices; inquire about local sections at the supermarket; request a local menu choice in restaurants; host local food dinner parties; and start our own challenge.
Smith and MacKinnon's quest, written with a delightful wit, is full of surprises and make us mindful of our food sources as they “hit home” the message that we have the power to regain what has been lost. They have attracted global media attention which in turn has began a grassroots movement to take us “Back to a Healthier Future.”

Nancy Roulston is a freelance writer, photographer and environmental science graduate. Larraine authors the children's compost adventure series at www.castlecompost.com.

OPTIMISM UP FRONT

IN HIS NEW BOOK, The Fate of Family Farming, Ronald Jager has a chapter on “The Soul of Agriculture” that cites an astonishing number of vital and restless “countervailing” movements. These include everything from advocates and co-ops to webs and networks - “All alive and alert and growing, alive and alert in addressing every aspect of the food system with spirit and conviction.” This powerful aggressive resistance stirs with goals alien to industrialized agriculture. The glass is still half full.
Its chief impulse is twofold: First, the search for viable alternatives to industrialized, chemicalized, globalized agriculture; and Second, a practical response to broader social concerns such as the fate of small farms and issues of food quality. “Everywhere, the crucial linkage is that between farm and food, in all their literal and powerful symbolic meanings and connections,” writes Jager. It calls for new forms of sound husbandry and good stewardship in their best and ancient senses.
“It is appropriate that organic agriculture should head the list and that sustainable agriculture - the underlying theme of many other movements - should be the summary example,” Jager observes.
Included within this diversity are the rise of movements such as Community Supported Agriculture, farmers' markets and of course Sustainable Agriculture developments. Organizations involved range from ATTRA (the National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service) to the National Center for Appropriate Technology, from local networks to programs developed by statewide organizations like California Agriculture and the Pennsylvania Food Project.
Greater sustainability has become one of the primary goals of agricultural and natural resource policy worldwide, notes California Agriculture, a bimonthly magazine of news and peer-reviewed research. Most definitions include three principles of sustainability: environmental health, economic viability and social equity. Agricultural water-quality management is an excellent case study, because it involves all three principles of sustainability. The goal is to reduce potential negative impacts while maintaining the economic viability and diversity of communities. It helps us understand attitude change and cooperation among large numbers of individual resource users. Local diffusion networks play a central role wherever sustainability involves policies that require innovation, collective action and cultural change.