I was hoping to find an easy answer to these questions in The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan, but I'm more than half way done and I don't have them yet. Are the strawberries I picked down the road better than the organic ones from California at the YIG? So much of the organic products and produce we get up here have been shipped from so far away, using fossil fuels to grow, harvest, package and ship them, that calling them good for the environment is a stretch. They may not have pesticide or fertilizer residue on them, but instead they are bathed in oil and I know all the things that go along with oil...like terrorism, wars, pollution, explosions on oil rigs that then gush in to the ocean for months. I think the answer is that there is no easy answer when you have to chose between the two.
However, I don't think anyone can argue that organic and local is by far the best choice. Many of the farmers and producers who have joined ELS are doing their best to farm as ecologically sound as possible, even if they aren't completely organic. We are fortunate enough to have access to a wide variety of these products, so as long as I'm choosing these items most of the time, I will try not to worry about the deeper implications when I have to chose between the two. Taste, I can assure you, will be the deciding factor when I do anyways. There is absolutely no point in paying good money for organic strawtastingberries from California on principal, when there are fresh, juicy strawberries down the road. Maybe if we stopped settling for crap organics from the Southern US and started demanding and be more willing to pay for local organic produce, we wouldn't have to chose anymore. And on top of all that, I would much rather see my money going to the Lewington Family in Lavigne, who send me pictures of their new human and animal babies and invitations to see their farm along with the lettuce they provide me each week, than the CEO's at Earthbound farms and Costco.
As for the second question (which in a round-a-bout way was brought up by "R" who commented on the very first post of this blog): What products are we making exceptions for in this project? Well, this is how we see it....this is just a project, not a punishment. We aren't being forced to do this by anyone. We haven't sworn off eating anything. The whole point of taking this on, was to take a closer look at what we are feeding ourselves. Could we make better choices? Of course! Could we be spending our money helping out others in our community and in return receiving food that would hopefully be better for us, the environment and just simply taste better? Of course! Do olives grown in Northern Ontario? Of course not!
There are simply some items that make perfect sense to import from other countries...like olive oil, sugar, chocolate, coffee and spices. They taste really good. Some have their own unique and important nutritional benefits. They are consumed in small quantities. When there is a local substitute, we are trying to use them....I for one have been using maple syrup or honey rather than sugar when possible. But, sometimes it just isn't possible. We've also tried to cut back. I found a source for canola oil in Ontario, so when suitable, I use it over olive oil. And I'm sorry...you will not get me to give up coffee or chocolate, but I will buy fare trade when possible!
What we are trying to do is to source out and buy locally every opportunity we get. Meat from a local farm instead of at Costco. Asparagus from the backyard rather than Peru. Making blueberry crisp rather than banana bread. Making our own pasta with locally milled flour and farm eggs, rather than buying a box of spaghetti from the grocery store shelf. We are trying to be much more conscious of what we are putting in to our bodies, and enjoying the process. This is about learning not about doing everything perfectly.
Shannon A.
However, I don't think anyone can argue that organic and local is by far the best choice. Many of the farmers and producers who have joined ELS are doing their best to farm as ecologically sound as possible, even if they aren't completely organic. We are fortunate enough to have access to a wide variety of these products, so as long as I'm choosing these items most of the time, I will try not to worry about the deeper implications when I have to chose between the two. Taste, I can assure you, will be the deciding factor when I do anyways. There is absolutely no point in paying good money for organic strawtastingberries from California on principal, when there are fresh, juicy strawberries down the road. Maybe if we stopped settling for crap organics from the Southern US and started demanding and be more willing to pay for local organic produce, we wouldn't have to chose anymore. And on top of all that, I would much rather see my money going to the Lewington Family in Lavigne, who send me pictures of their new human and animal babies and invitations to see their farm along with the lettuce they provide me each week, than the CEO's at Earthbound farms and Costco.
As for the second question (which in a round-a-bout way was brought up by "R" who commented on the very first post of this blog): What products are we making exceptions for in this project? Well, this is how we see it....this is just a project, not a punishment. We aren't being forced to do this by anyone. We haven't sworn off eating anything. The whole point of taking this on, was to take a closer look at what we are feeding ourselves. Could we make better choices? Of course! Could we be spending our money helping out others in our community and in return receiving food that would hopefully be better for us, the environment and just simply taste better? Of course! Do olives grown in Northern Ontario? Of course not!
There are simply some items that make perfect sense to import from other countries...like olive oil, sugar, chocolate, coffee and spices. They taste really good. Some have their own unique and important nutritional benefits. They are consumed in small quantities. When there is a local substitute, we are trying to use them....I for one have been using maple syrup or honey rather than sugar when possible. But, sometimes it just isn't possible. We've also tried to cut back. I found a source for canola oil in Ontario, so when suitable, I use it over olive oil. And I'm sorry...you will not get me to give up coffee or chocolate, but I will buy fare trade when possible!
What we are trying to do is to source out and buy locally every opportunity we get. Meat from a local farm instead of at Costco. Asparagus from the backyard rather than Peru. Making blueberry crisp rather than banana bread. Making our own pasta with locally milled flour and farm eggs, rather than buying a box of spaghetti from the grocery store shelf. We are trying to be much more conscious of what we are putting in to our bodies, and enjoying the process. This is about learning not about doing everything perfectly.
Shannon A.
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