Guest Commentary
Is Being a Localvore Possible? And, Is It Worth It?
By Guest Writer, 1-09-09
As the days shorten, then lengthen again, we dive into the deepest cold of the year. Ranchers feed out tons of hay each day to cattle waiting in snowy fields, farmers mend equipment in snug barns and parents cook hearty soups and stews in winter kitchens.
Where does this hearty winter fare originate? If not grown here, how did it travel here? By plane, train, truck or ship? Did it cross oceans or continents before it reached our plates? Or did it come from the backyard or the neighbor’s field? Was it waiting patiently in a root cellar or basement freezer?
We are all looking at this issue of petroleum and food miles, and often feeling overwhelmed with the complexity of the changes required in our lives and culture. Is being a locavore actually possible, is it worth it and what benefit do we each find in the added effort involved?
The answer is a resounding yes, it is worth it.
Every purchase we make sends a message to our community. Every time we choose a California orange, rather than an Australian steak, we have shaved thousands of miles off our petroleum use. Every time we eat in season, we support farmers whose lives and livelihoods revolve around acknowledging the natural cycles of our planet. Certainly, lamb is an Easter food, or watermelon “should” be eaten on the 4th of July, but are those choices right for Montana?
Lamb for a Montana Easter was born in midwinter, the toughest time for farmer and ewe, July watermelon was planted in Montana’s February frozen ground. Sustainable?
As we each slowly change our food choice to sustainable and local, let us focus this midwinter on carrots, potatoes, leeks, onions, garlic, parsnips, cabbage, kale, chard, spinach, hard squash for vegetables, citrus and apples for fruit. We can sustainably eat locally-grown grassfed meats and choose local grains like wheat, barley, kamut, spelt and oats. Our local world is rich with choices-- start slowly and enjoy!
Jenny Sabo, her husband Mark, and two home-schooled sons live off-the-grid and raise grass-fed beef and dairy cattle, following organic principles, near Harrison. She also contributes a bi-monthly column, News From the Dirt, to the Community Food News, a publication of the Community Food Co-op in Bozeman.
[End of article]I think the answer to "is it worth it" depends on why you are trying to maximize local consumption. As a way to support the local agricultural community, most often the answer will be yes, it is worth it. But if you are trying to eat food that has the smallest carbon footprint, the answer is much more complicated.
An example: Apple trees grow very well and are abundant in New Zealand. They grow less well and demand a lot of water in more Northern climates. Even accounting for the transport impact, it is less of an impact to import these apples. Same is often true with lambs. Another example is roses grown outdoor in Kenya vs. indoors in Holland.
Our global food system has some efficiencies that can't be overlooked.
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/02/25/080225fa_fact_specter
Geoff, While New Zealand grows a nice apple, so does Michigan, Wisconsin, New York and other places in the US. Fact is, much of New Zealand sits around 40 degrees south latitude, which give or take a few degrees and adding a "north" to the latitude, is just where some of the prime apple growing regions in the US sit. The climate of much of New Zealand is very similar to the climate throughout much of the US, although they are obviously in the middle of their summer right now.
Comment By Janine Peters, 1-27-09Looking up Missoula Localvores brought me to your article, voicing
a sentiment that was growing before our collective crash, and seems only stronger and louder since. In fact I feel that it's time for me to quit the work I've been doing and follow this strong urge to be part of the solution. I joined the co-op kitchen here in Missoula because my conscience made me but it's not enough.
I want to utilize my (1.73 acre) property and become a functioning farm and local foods store giving people a convenient place to start or finish their food shopping trip to Missoula. I'm right on the east side of Hwy. 93, just south of Missoula at the foot of Blue Mountain next to the Bitter-Root river.
I want to be another option for consumers and producers. I'm also thinking to possibly support people in their "Liberty Garden endeavors" by selling Heirloom seeds, organic options to pest control and fertilizers and possibly a chosen line of grow-lights.
I am obsessed, determined and convinced the timing is right !