Of course, right as I started blogging my local food week, my laptop decided to take a long nap. I am pretty sure it won't be waking up again, but I'm stealing a quick moment on a borrowed computer to type a note.
I'll try to fill you in more completely on the week later, but for now, you should know that it wasn't perfect. But, it did teach me a lot about what I'm actually striving for when I'm living as a locavore.
First, I didn't find the challenge to be too difficult. After all, I already try to eat local most of the time and I have lots of good connections and sources. But, the "all" local restriction was...well, a bit restricting. I didn't mind the no eating out. I didn't mind the meat, veggies, fruit, and grain coming from local sources. I didn't mind substituting local ingredients for other ingredients that can be locally sourced. But, when faced with recipes for foods that just can't be turned all local, I felt discouraged. I discovered the following about myself:
1. I will eat only local when local is available. Luckily, I live in an area where I can get local fruits, veggies, grains, maple syrup, honey, meat, cheese, milk and more. But, if I really want certain ingredients, like sugar, olive oil, or peanuts, I have to look a little furthur away. But, by limiting myself to only those ingredients, I am drastically reducing my carbon footprint.
2. If I know I will want non-seasonal ingredients for ingredients I can find at some point in the year, I will learn to preserve them. I have filled an entire deep freeze to the brim with veggies and fruit to enjoy all year long. Luckily, I don't have to store local meats, as I can get them year round from local farmers and the foodshed buying club.
3. If I can't find a local ingredient within 100 miles, I will search out 250 miles. If I still can't find it, I try to source it from the New England region and keep my search within 500-600 miles. I get fresh frozen seafood from Maine, organic real butter from Maine, and some of the fruits that are grown more easily in the slightly more Southern state of PA.
4. If faced with a local, non organic ingredient and a slightly further away organic source, I will take efforts to decide which choice is more ethically and environmentally responsible. For example: I can get local butter here from many sources, but I can't get organic local butter without taking a long drive to a far-reaching local source. I choose not to use the energy in my car just to get a small package of butter. I also choose to use butter from cows raised on grass and given a better life.
5. I choose to use the freshest ingredients in the growing season and preserved ingredients when those are not available. I eat yogurt with fruit and granola almost every day. During the summer, that fruit is whatever is in season: strawberries in June, blueberries in July, and peaches in August. I switch to eating frozen berries when those are not available and eat fresh apples as a mid-afternoon snack.
6. When buying products like pasta, bagels, and bread, I look first to those who use local ingredients. When not possible, I at least use producers that are local or family owned businesses. I mostly make my own bread, but sometimes I buy specialty bread from Rosemont Inn, and I love the bagels from Bagel Grove. Pasta can also be found from local producers.
So, there are my rules. I will continue to live by them. I will let you know how well my week went and what I fell down on in the next blog!
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