100 Mile Diet?
So my friends and I are sitting around, having a few beers and talking about life. We've been talking about the "organics" rage that's been happening lately (mostly in North America...as we're in Sounthern Ontario). We were talking about how, although, it's great that we can eat organic food, is it all that much better? Because really, the money and badness put into the air to ship the organic foods to us almost, at times, outweighs actually eating organic food. So I remembered some talk show on TV about a couple who decided for one year to ONLY eat organically grown LOCAL food (or food grown within 100 miles from where they live). When I saw it, at the time, I understood why they did it but thought that it must have been SO hard...and then forgot about it.
Now I'm thinking more about it. Could it work? Can I do this, maybe just for 2 weeks, in Toronto? Can I afford it? I'm thinking that I might want to really do this. I know just two weeks is a far cry from a whole year...but I think two weeks, or even a month might be cool to try. Mind you, this might be the (not local or organic) beer I've consumed, but I feel like it could actually change some things in my life (i.e relationships with local farms/farmers and foods, way less junk and fast food, less money spent on snack-food when I'm out and about...etc).
I knwo all of you lovely vegweb people are awesome and I know many of you buy organic andlocal as much as you can and I'm just wondering how it works for you. Can you afford it, realistically? Can you find everything you need? I mean, I'm talking totally local bread and such. Have any of you heard of the 100 Mile Diet? Mostly, what do you all think?
Warmth,
Lenorre
I do not believe I could do it. I cannot afford organic food, I could maybe, possibly do locally grown food thats not organic. Ive been wanting to go this way, but the farms market is only on wedsday mornings. WTF? who has a market open on Wed mornings? If you grew things, you could probably trade with other gardeners.
Which brings me to a question...is it wrong of me to trade the eggs my chickens lay for food? I was not able to grow a garden this year. i really wanted to, but it didn't work out. I have three laying hens. I rescued them (starting a chicken rescue) I do not eat the eggs, because I am a vegan. But I give the eggs away to people in the neighborhood. They always ask why I have chickens if i don't eat the eggs...which allows me to tell them about the chicken rescue and in turn the plight of factory farmed birds. I offer to help them if they want to keep a few chickens as pets. Some are uninterested and most are not. But all that is besides the point. I refuse to SELL my chickens eggs because I feel like once we turn and animals byproducts into a commodity we start to devalue the animal. as if to suggest the animal has no intrinsic worth. Their worth would be based on how much they produce, how quickly. Then everyone forgets they are a real creature with real feelings, thought and natural rights. On the other hand, I do believe in mutually beneficial relationships. A relationship where one member is enslaved or killed cannot possible be beneficial. A companion dog or cat who loves on you and you love and feed is often mutually beneficial. So, my chickens and I love on one another. I feed them. Does that mean I can trade their eggs for food? I am not saying they have to "earn their keep" If they never laid another egg again I would not love them less. (although they would "win" and round trip visit to the vet...) I know you will all say to do what I think is best. I just want opinions.
and I swear I'm not throwing off the thread...Id only trade for locally produced foods.
Lenorre: I think if you're wanting to try a local diet, you should go for it! Now's the time; I can't even imagine attempting it in the winter. I don't have any tips for you. I practically live at the grocery store. But I admire your desire to do this. Keep us posted!
Veghead: You acquired the chickens to give them a better life. You love them, care for them, and I assume, let them run around and be chickens. Hens do produce eggs. I don't think it's wrong to give the eggs away, nor do I think it'd be wrong to trade them. As long as the hens don't become upset, who cares?
Where I lived on Calironia's North Coast (Arcata), there were a lot of nearby organic farms. There is an organic farmer's market on Saturdays at the square (a grassy area in the middle of town). People would walk to the square with their wicker baskets and do their fruit and veggie shopping for the week.
Unless you live somewhere like that where both options are available or you have a really good co-op, I think the bulk of your choice is between locally grown or organic.
Hi Lenorre, I was just reading about this last week.
http://www.greenlivingonline.com/HealthNutrition/eat-locally-act-globally/
I love the idea of 'eat local, act global' but in all honesty, I don't think I could survive on the 100 mile diet. I'm in southern Ontario too...on the greenbelt, which means during this time of year, we eat a lot of locally grown foods but after harvest season, there isn't much. And, a lot of this fertile soil is being used to grow grapes for wine.....way more money to be made on a vineyard.
I don't have enough freezer space to fill with enough food to last through the winter, so we have to buy imported fruits & veggies.
I've never really thought about it but I do rely on a lot of things that I just can't get locally....nuts, rice, coffee! (oh no, not my coffee), citrus fruits...where are all my legumes grown?
Personally, local is always my first choice
I found this to be quite interesting....from the 100milediet site
The 100-Mile Index provides a statistical snapshot of our world’s globalized food system. The numbers are fascinating, troubling, funny and sometimes, just plain strange. Have a read and send them to a friend. Help grow this movement.
* Minimum distance that North American produce typically travels from farm to plate, in miles: 1,500
* Number of Planet Earths’ worth of resources that would be needed if every person worldwide lived like the average North American: 8
* Planets saved if all of those people ate locally: 1
* Ratio of minutes spent preparing food by English consumers who buy ready-made foods versus traditional home-cooking: 1:1
* Estimated number of plant species worldwide with edible parts: 30,000
* Number of species that currently provide 90 percent of the world’s food: 20
* Share of each U.S. consumer food dollar that returned to the farmer in 1910, in cents: 40
* Share that returned to the farmer in 1997, in cents: 7
* Ratio of prisoners to farmers in the U.S. population: 5:2
* Percentage of fresh vegetables eaten in Hanoi, Vietnam, that are grown in the city: 80
* Percentage of all tomatoes in U.S. that are harvested while green : 80
* Major river dams constructed to irrigate California, now the world’s number five agricultural producer: 1,200
* Number of years that Alisa Smith and James MacKinnon of Vancouver, Canada, ate only foods produced from within 100 miles of their home: 1
* Amount of potatoes, in pounds, that they bought for the winter: 100
* Days that that 100 pounds of potatoes would have fed a person in Ireland, on average, before the potato famine of 1845: 18
* Combined weight in pounds that Alisa and James lost on their 100-Mile Diet: 12
Here's a guy trying something similar in the city: http://noimpactman.typepad.com/blog/
And here is a link to a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). Maybe there is a local CSA you can join or support in some way: http://www.umassvegetable.org/food_farming_systems/csa/index.html
Great thread!!! I'm gonna bookmark it.
8)
I live in a pretty good area to try this out (Zone 7, urban but close to a lot of farms), but it's so daunting! It seems like the amount of research even would be a huge part of the diet. We've made a lot of strides to go local when we can, but there are other things I wouldn't even know where to find.
We have a great brewery near us, so instead of buying bottles of beer, we bought a few growlers and fill them up for $9 a pop. I think there are 8 pints or so in a growler, so it's a good deal, it's local, and it doesn't make any garbage whatsoever. But I don't know if their ingredients are local. Does this count? And we buy our tofu in bulk from a farm close by, but I have no idea where their soybeans come from. I suppose I should call them and find out. We make our own bread with ingredients we buy in bulk from our co-op, but I have no idea where the ingredients come from. Where does one even found locally-grown and -milled flour and gluten? I suppose this is the challenge of the diet, which is only eating things you can find!
We are part of a CSA, so all of our summer veggies travel about 25 miles, which I am really proud of. I love our CSA. They're not certified organic, but they do all organic practices and sustainable agriculture. They are so wonderful. If anyone in the NoVA/DC area wants a recommendation, let me know! We've split a share with neighbors for the past three years (it's the perfect size for 2 vegetarian adults), but I think next year we're going to get a full share and process half of our lovely local veggies for colder weather.
Also, we have our garden going pretty nicely this year! We had lettuce and spinach (all done now), and now we've got tomatoes, cukes, okra, eggplant, and lots of peppers. Lots of herbs too-- basil, sage, mint, lemon balm, oregano, thyme, etc. And of course, that stuff travels 0 miles. :)
veghead, i have been wondering this for a while and havnt found the answer yet. what do the hens do with the eggs if someone doesnt take them? do they have a burial ritual? do they not care about the eggs? do they eat them? my boyfriend and i have been talking about if there is ever an emergency where someone needs to adopt a couple chickens that we could adopt them and possibly go back to being just vegetarian and eating eggs sometimes. but! only if the chickens obviously do not want them at all.
lenorre, this is such an awesome idea! you should certainly post stories about your adventure. i would love to do something like this as well one day when i have the opportunity.
Hey eveeryone, thanks for replying :) Living in Toronto, I know there are local and organic farms and markets. I'm not particularily concerned about finding most fruits and veggies that I need. As well, my parents and boyfriend live in a smaller town just outside of Toronto that has a Sunday food market that sells local and organic foods as well as random farm stands all over the place that I will be able to access when I visit or they visit me.
However, I am concerned about beans, flours, sugars, grains...things like that, that I'm not sure will be available to me. I have been reading in the 100 Mile site though and having been thinking about in a sense "making my own rules". I mean, for instance, even if I can't find locally milled flour, why not try my damnedest to buy from a local indie shop and make my own bread? Or buy my bread entirely from a local baker or neighbor baker? My deal is the disconnect we have from our food, be you an omnivore, vegetarian or vegan or whatever, I think sometimes we forget to think about what we put into our months. I feel like even if I just TRY to eat as much local as I can, I will be able to make a better connection with my food, my earth and the people around me. Even doing the research, for me, is beginning to help me to either look harder or actually see what's out there and who's out there. Does that make sense? It did in my head...
The only other concern I have is cost. I'm 22, a student, living on my own and trying to make ends meet. I do not have any space for a garden where I live so even trying to grow some potatoes and such is very well out (maybe I could do sprouts and tomatoes inside?). I ahve begun some research though. I love this stuff and can feel myself getting pretty obsessed with this idea ;) In the next few weeks after I get some money under my belt I will begin buying as much local (and organic) as I can and try and get involved in some food/farm communities. I will post of my adventures as I go, I guess.
Thanks so much everyone for all your support!! :)
ooooooooh and Veghead, I don't think it would be wrong of you to trade the eggs. I think if you do it responsibly and thoughtfully, you'll be alright. Even selling them might be okay when doing it thoughtfully. I don't think you'll be devaluing them as creatures if you make it a point in yourself and to the chickens that they are a part of your life and that you do love them. Why not sell the eggs to cover the cost of their feed? Sorry, I'm not trying to force the idea of selling, I'm just sort of trying to figure it out in my own head. I do like the idea of trading or giving them away though, and I believe that you would not be doing wrong.
I have heard of this 100 mile diet and I don't think it is all that bad. I currently take care of thirteen horses and twenty four chickens at a farm I work for part time. I assure you the chickens are treated very well and have free range of everything that they would need. They always have fresh water, food and free range of the yards to collect insects and grasses. They are really happy. I don't personally eat their eggs although I assure you that if someone did not, that they would just go to waste. Chickens lay eggs, thats what they do. As long as they are not in cages, 5-6 hens deep, I don't think there is a problem with that. If you choose to eat eggs, I would say please be sure that they are "free range". As for other produce, you could always take advantage of local farmers markets or neighbors with gardens. Container gardens are also an option and take very little space to grow. I like to barter services for fruits and vegetables locally. I get fresh produce and in return will provide a service that is within my abilities. Works for me.
med Broody) sit on eggs for a day or two from time to time. I just put the water and food near her. She likes it so why not. Chickens will often trample there eggs and then taste them. They see that they taste so good and farmers have a hard time collecting the eggs after that. In my opine, the hens laid the eggs and it belongs to her, if she wants to eat it and not share it on particular day, I think its her right. In fact, some times I will crack the eggs open so the chickens can have a special treat, the protein is good for them as is the calcium in the shells. Be warned though that if a chicken gets too much protein from a food she will eat less and become board, making cannibalism a concern. Hope this helped
This has recently been "bothering" me. Here in Texas, the peaches from Fredericksburg and the strawberries from Poteet are "famous". Tons of cabbage and cantaloupes are grown just outside of town. Yet, the peaches I bought from the store had labels that they came from Georgia, the strawberries came from California. I don't remember where the cabbage and cataloupe came from but I remember from the label that it wasn't Texas! This is so messed up, we ship Texas produce away and import stuff from other states. H-E-B is a Texas based chain of grocery stores so you'd think they'd buy Texan. It can't be so much cheaper to buy from Georgia and have it shipped here than buying from in-state! Not that I bedgrudge people in other states our wonderful peaches and strawberries. It just doesn't make sense to me that I hardly ever see anything grown in Texas in the supermarket!
okay, so I posted a thing on craigslist to trade my chickens eggs for produce. (please see my above concerns) and the first message I got back was from this lady saying "hey, good idea. I'm gonna post that too! Hope you don't mind." and I was sitting there thinking how I DO kinda mind...and then clicked over to the barter section and there was her post, about three ahead of mine. She used almost the same verbage...just threw in few more adjectives. and included a phone number...
For some reason, I feel kinda pissed...ha ha. Thats what I get!
I totally heard about that family! In an interview they said it was hard at first, but now is very much apart of their lives. I'm sure you will get a hang of it once you locate all the places and farms you need! If you need help finding stuff, you should ask the at the local places you do know, like your bakery, where do they get their produts?
Good luck and keep us posted!!!
Capture
okay, so I posted a thing on craigslist to trade my chickens eggs for produce. (please see my above concerns) and the first message I got back was from this lady saying "hey, good idea. I'm gonna post that too! Hope you don't mind." and I was sitting there thinking how I DO kinda mind...and then clicked over to the barter section and there was her post, about three ahead of mine. She used almost the same verbage...just threw in few more adjectives. and included a phone number...
For some reason, I feel kinda pissed...ha ha. Thats what I get!
I tend to get a bit combative when I feel I'm being taken advantage of (one of my failings as a Christian). I'd message her back and tell her that since she copied my ad and just embellished it some, I do mind. Adding that phone number may come back to bite her in the *ss. If you give your home number out in a general list or forum, you're goiing to get calls from sicko perverts who will try to scare you to death! At the least, she'll get phone calls that aren't egg-related!