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| Is this you? from: cookingblog.partiesthatcook.com |
First off, “local food” has no standard definition. The general consensus of local food can be credited to the same women who coined locavore, that is: the production and consumption of one’s food within a 100 mile radius1.
Clearly this would be a very difficult diet, right from breakfast. No bananas, no grapefruit, no SUGAR, no coffee and no tea?? No thanks. However, we in Southern Ontario are still very lucky in that we have the opportunity to consume a diverse and nutritious diet from local sources. Think of all the meats, milk, cheeses, fruits and vegetables and it will calm you down after that lack-of-coffee shock.
Aside: when I was little and my brother was a scout, he somehow got the information that chicory root (a plant that grows rampant as a weed in our area) can be processed into a drink that substitutes for coffee. Now I don’t drink coffee myself (and I was six) but our mom, did not agree with this substitution. At all.
Anyway, one of the arguments for eating locally seems to be the benefit to your local economy and agricultural system. The number of farms overall has been in steady decline in Canada, while the number of million-dollar farms has managed to increase2. This implies job losses for individual families and a shift to larger scale industry; just like many other economic sectors.
I like to play devil’s advocate, so lets just say that food production becomes monopolized by ‘big’ agriculture. What’s wrong with that? Give me your own opinions and I’ll continue to chip away at the many, many issues surrounding the origin of our food.
Some lighter fare is coming up, I’m going to St. Jacob’s Market for the first time!!
Sources:
[1] Oxford University Press Blog: http://blog.oup.com/2007/11/locavore/
[2] Statistics Canada “The financial picture of farms in Canada”
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/ca-ra2006/articles/finpicture-portrait-eng.htm
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/ca-ra2006/articles/finpicture-portrait-eng.htm
When I was growing up, my parents maintained a garden. Nowadays, my dad only grows a few vegetables that don't require much effort. He says it's cheaper and way easier to buy vegetables from a grocery store.
ReplyDeleteHe showed me a Chinese web-site that listed reasons why Canada was a great place to live. One of the reasons was that you could buy any fruits and vegetables all year long. (Of course, the ones that are in season will be cheaper.)