I just stumbled across an NPR article that discussed whether or not Americans should care WHERE our food comes from. A quick stroll through the produce aisle at your local grocery store in the dead of winter pretty much tells the whole story. Strawberries, tomatoes and green beans are all there.
But, in January, at least in most places, they certainly aren’t local. Most likely, they’ve come from Mexico, and depending on where you are in the country, that could mean they have traveled a crazy long way to get to you. It’s not just a question that is unique to the U.S. and Canada, other countries ship in produce from far away too.
The “Eat Local” movement has had fuel for a couple of years now, but it made me curious about my readers. Do you care where your food comes from? Do you read the labels to find out where your produce has come from? Do you eat seasonally? I know that our grandparents wouldn’t have had access to this kind of food in winter, so what do you think they actually ate? My guess is a lot of home canned produce–even freezers would have been a rare commodity then.
The article mentioned that the North American Free Trade Act {adopted 20 years ago} completely changed the access we have to produce. Combine that fact with our now honed shipping and distribution system, and it’s summer all year long in the grocery stores. BUT, what is the cost?
The term food miles is used to describe how many miles food has to travel to get to our plate. It was originally coined to decide the impact of shipping food too far starts on the environment and how it depletes the overall nutritional value of the produce. Most varieties of food that are grown to be shipped have to be chosen not for their flavor, but for their ability to withstand the time it takes to ship. Plus, when food comes from other countries, there is no way to know what pesticides, etc. that they have used {not to mention that most foods have to be treated with a fungicide just so that they survive shipping}.
I totally get wanting a tomato in the dead of winter, but, and I am just curious here, wouldn’t a tomato taste sooooo much better if it were local and in season? Maybe buying local would teach us to savor and look forward to all seasons?
On a sidebar to the article about eating locally, there was another article about a new, genetically modified apple that won’t brown after slicing it. It still needs to be approved by the FDA, but the idea that we are so far removed {literally and figuratively} from our food that we turn our nose up at the natural oxidizing process of an apple scares me a little bit. We already ship our food massive distances and now we want to genetically modify it so that it is aesthetically pleasing?
I’m not really trying to be preachy–I really want to know, how important is it to you? Is it even possible to eat locally where you live?
~Mavis
Plenty: Eating Locally on the 100 Mile Diet
Connie Wheeler says
Amy & I try our best to eat what’s available locally and can or freeze for the winter. Did come across this horrible apple at a local garden center where they were advertising their “wonderful ice apple” .. I don’t think I gave it a thought before buying some of them and then I too read the article about these apples. We didn’t eat them, rather I let them sit in a bowl on top of the fridge. Well, they sat there for over a month !!!!!!!!!!!!!! and, outside of an oily look to the skin, they did not rot nor brown nor shrivel up or anything!! I didn’t even throw them to the livestock, I put them in the garbage.
I do occasionally buy salad fixin’s in the winter cuz I just have to have some salad!!! but, would really rather not eat shipped in produce at all. If I can’t pick it and “put it up” for the winter, I really don’t want to eat it.
Peggy Stenglein says
It sure would Mavis! The tomato that is, I rarely buy a tomato out of season now. I’m lucky enough to have space to grow a crazy amount of tomatoes that I can for sauce, condiments, salsa’s, and just plain old whole tomatoes for chili’s and stuff like that. I have decided that I’d rather put a bit of our delicious Zesty Salsa (Ball Canning Book recipe) atop my salad and tacos out of season instead of the reddish colored bland cardboardy tasting thing I can buy at the store this time of year. My dream is to make a modified ‘walpini’ at our family farm in the hopes of being able to maybe grow some of my own hothouse tomatoes during the off seasons! Back in the day, I think there were lots of dried foods, squash, and stews going around! I really enjoy your blog, and like the direction you take making people think about where their food is coming from, and the overabundance of waste. 🙂
Kathy says
I care where my produce comes from, you bet your buttons I do! Where I am at, in Ohio, there is one local store that has it marked where the produce comes from, be it local, California or even Mexico. I try, in off se ason, to get the stuff marked local, even if it means somewhere else in the state and not from my county. Also, there are places around town with green houses that developmentally disabled folks tend, gunk-free as they call it, that this store buys from as well. Helps in winter to know that, even is it is grown in a heated greenhouse, my lettuce is local grown and chemical free!
Peggy Stenglein says
Yes, amazing Kathy! What part of OH? That sounds like a wonderful program!
Carol says
That is amazing, Kathy….I would love to have one of those “gunk-free” green house producer. That helps out on so many levels!
I agree with you, I watch where the winter produce is grown. It really does matter.
Dianna says
I buy local when it’s about the same price or cheaper. I don’t understand why so often local costs more! It would be fairly easy to eat locally here in the warm seasons, but in the winter, it’s too cold to grow anything so you’d have to really think ahead, and can and freeze a lot.
One thing that I did do was buy a case of (semi-local) apples and keep them in my garage. I got them in November and they’ve kept really well.
Eating local is too overwhelming for me. I can’t go to one store and get what I need, and the prices are high. My step toward eating local is growing a garden. I know I can’t grow all my food, but I can at least grow some!
Emma says
Yes, I care where my food comes from, i try to buy local as much as possible.I will pay more for local good food:)
Ann says
Over the last few years, the local food movement has changed the way I shop. We now buy grass fed beef and pork from local farmers, and grow most of our veggies spring thru fall. When I do buy grocery store produce, I check the label for where it’s grown, and will buy local and USA grown instead of imported whenever possible. The flavor of out of season fruits is always disappointing, so if I didn’t freeze extra in season, we don’t eat it.
Ruth Ward says
It is not always easy to get fresh produce locally, especially in the dead of winter. Tomatos in winter are from Central and South America or from a greenhouse. The ones from the America’s are picked green and ripen in route to here, thus taste like cardboard. As do greenhouse or hydroponically grown tomatoes. Sorry growers but flat or cardboard tasting tomatoes suck. So, can is the way I go. Greenbeans – Mexico, bananas Central and South America, but bananas don’t grow well in North America. Pineapple – Hawaii. Apples from Washington and Oregon store well. Oranges will be taking a hit from this latest hard frost. Greenhouse lettuce seems to lack flavor as well, so I tend to go with fresh spinach, that doesn’t seem to be effected by the sterile soils of a greenhouse. Squash – local. Broccoli, brussel sprouts (which taste great in winter), and califlower, I believe come from Texas. So, in answer does it matter? Not really.
Aliea says
Our family certainly does care and are becoming more aware of eating seasonally and locally every year. In the natural world, flavor almost always translates to nutrient-content; our mouths are built to sense nutrition and our eyes to seek a colorful array of food. How we have grossly abused that gift is a whole other rant (artificial flavoring & colors are just scary), but the loss of nutrition that we’ve accepted as a society in order to eat out of season is also a mistake. The cost(S) of that food are countless: gov’t subsidies, import & transportation, nutrient-loss, ripening/preservatives/preservation methods, and the impact to our health from poor food consumption. Keep it close and keep it natural, our family votes!
Kristina says
We here in moderate climates like where I live in central CA have the advantage of a year-round growing season. I have thought a lot about this, and wonder whether populations in areas with harsh climates and very little arable (as opposed to pastoral) land have grown beyond the ability to feed people adequately from local sources. We are so blessed with abundance in our modern era that we tend to forget the vitamin and mineral deficiencies of the past (scurvy and rickets, anyone?) that used to be common health threats. Of course, I can eat locally, and well, I might add, on locally grown produce and produce from my own winter garden (I never buy blechy winter tomatoes, though we have local commercial hothouse operations). It’s a no-brainer. We even have many award winning wineries within that 100 mile radius you mention. Not everyone is so lucky. Also, I don’t trust the production practices in foreign countries. Even if something is labelled “organic” and seems like a crazy good deal at Trader Joe’s, but it’s from India or Mexico, I am suspicious. Folks think you can test produce for pesticides, but it isn’t always so. What I worry about more, however, is field sanitation. Where do the workers go to the bathroom during the work day, when they’re out in the middle of a big field, and how do they wash their hands? We are fairly well regulated here both for worker and food safety. I am a farmer myself, and I know that my employees always have access to a real bathroom (port-a-potty sometimes) and clean water and soap to wash up with. I would bet my best knickers that that isn’t the case in a lot of countries.
Siobhan says
I buy what’s best, and that’s usually local and seasonal. But not out of a philosophical opposition to Mexican produce.
If you’re looking for a tomato in winter, I recommend the Aldi has a brown tomato, sold in a 3 pk for 1.50 (I believe). They’re the closest you’re going to get to summer. It’s not 100%, but at least 85% there. Totally, try it!
Linda says
I do care about where my food comes from. I know fruits and veggies taste better when they are grown in season and don’t travel that far. It limits what I buy but I feel better about what I eat. Also I don’t restrict myself when it comes to things like coffee, olive oil, etc. But I try to buy local meat, diary, and produce.
Cheryl says
I sure do care. I am still able to buy tomatoes at Aldi though they really don’t taste like summer tomatoes but they come from Canada. I am watching my weight and eat a salad twice per day, need some variety besides lettuce and carrots.
Elena says
I don’t buy certain things in winter. Tomatoes, peaches, nectarines, or plums.I buy local apples and pears and freeze lots of berries over the summer months. I will buy produce from California and occasionally mango’s or avocados from abroad. I also love bananas. Certain things don’t grow locally. I try not to buy items that I am going to eat the skin of from other countries.
Mari says
Being an island nation we have to have imports of many fruit (banana, oranges, melons, mangoes etc) and some veges. But yesterday I wondered the logic of this in our supermarket. It is summer fruit season here in New Zealand. In one bin were NZ apricots for $6.99kg and in bin beside were USA apricots for $4.99. OK ours are fresh, yours are obviously stored and chilled and close to 6 mths old but I thought it was very odd frankly I was a bit disgusted to see the imports when it is our summer. All produce here has to state the country of origin. Was the same with large plums and lemons too. And garlic… NZ garlic is $22.50 kg for new seasons and below it is imported from China garlic for $6.99 a 1kg bag. Both side by side with the stored imported stuff much cheaper. I was pretty disgusted. I just wish I was able to afford organic, but that is beyond my means.
Sara says
Local is always preferable, but if I want something that will taste good (no stone fruit in winter) I will buy it. My concern is health and contamination of our produce. I use a produce delivery company when my garden isn’t producing and I got to know them and discussed the foreign organics question. I don’t trust them all, but I do trust the relationship my company has with its distributor which visits all farms they buy from. So few stores disclose where something was grown unless they’re promoting it as local that it is difficult to determine otherwise.
Nina says
Also read Barbara Kingsolver’s book Animal, Vegetable, Mineral. She and her family moved to a farm and for a year ate locally and grew their own food. Interesting and informative.
Jesse says
I live in GA and my local Farmer’s Market is open year round this year! I buy whatever they have every week and that is about it for produce. What they have is what I eat. I spend more to support my local growers and better production methods. The musroom farmers are my current favorite people!
I do can and feeze from my garden in the summer so I have berries/tomatoes/peppers on hand all the time.
I would NEVER eat a store tomato anymore. They are digusting!
Margaret Thele says
As a grower and a farmers market seller – I try to get “Michigan Grown” when I can, but at the produce terminal there is very little that is not grown out of state. I make it a point, however, to know where the produce comes from. At home I do a lot of canning with purchased farmers market fruits and veg, garden is too small to sustain me but I am selling greenhouse greens grown this winter.
Dana says
Totally pay attention to where my food comes from. Not that long ago, at trader joe’s, I noticed their ground beef came from Australia-WHAT??? Why on earth do I want to eat meat that is likely old and treated with Lord knows what just to get to me in Charlotte NC? I buy most meats from our local butcher who gets his meat from a farm down the road. I just did a Zaycon event last October and have eaten that chicken, not sure where it comes from though??
I do not like the idea of eating produce only when it’s in season since I am not a canner (yet) but we are learning a bit. Especially since you pay more when it’s not in season. I love the idea of being to buy local but many of our “local” groups that offer produce are shipping theirs in from other countries. There is nobody in the majority of the US getting fresh strawberries during our polar vortex!! ;0
Debbie says
I like to buy local as much as possible. This all became my 2014 project when I saw an apple at the grocery store with a Chile sticker. My apples now come from the local orchard that is open year round. I have given notice to my family members that they must read the country of origin for all food. This is because my husband brought home canned peaches from a discount grocery from China! Let the buyer beware – my advice is – plant a garden, buy local and read labels.
Jen says
I’m doing my best! I really stocked up on fruits and vegetables from our local farmers market and u-pick farms last summer and am purchasing a side of local organic beef this month. I get local milk and eggs and am doing my best to get as local as possible produce from the local food co-op during these winter months. A bell pepper is a splurge. I’m glad I put up as much crushed tomatoes last summer as I did!
My shelf stable beans/grains/fruits/nuts aren’t as local as I’d like (if at all). I’m hoping to stock up on some locally grown quinoa this year though!
Denise Trowbridge says
Hells yeah we care! The more your learn and read about our industrial food system the scarier grocery store and far-flung produce seems. I have friends who don’t give it a second thought, but I do. We buy all of our meat from a local grass-fed free-range family farm. We grow and preserve as much of our own as we can throughout the year.
If we have to buy out of season (we are in Ohio too. Brrr.) We at least try to make it organic.
maggi g says
fortunately, I live in florida where an abundance of fresh produce comes from. we get a lot of food earlier in the year than most states but later in the year the heat is too much for most of our crops. I try to buy from states closest to florida during that time of year. I will NEVER again buy anything from south America…except bananas. my daughter ate strawberries from Chile several years ago and was hospitalized due to vomiting and dehydration from the pesticides used on the fruit. what comes into the USA from other countries is not regulated as it should be. ill do without rather than buy something I cant trust.
CathyB says
I try to buy local, but living in Alaska, there is a huge part of the year that local is pretty hard to do. At least for fresh produce. We try to harvest our own fish and berries in the summer and freeze for the whole year. I get local eggs from a friend. And this year we bought a quarter of grass-fed beef from an Alaskan rancher. Honey from a little stand down the road. In the summer I can buy from the local farmers market – but even then it tends toward the cold weather crops. We are big gardeners, but because of moving, this summer was the first try at a garden in our new place. We did not have as much success as we hoped, but we know that we just need time to get more beds in place, amend soil, put up moose-barriers, etc. We have planted some little fruit trees, but it will probably be years before they start producing. And even then fruit is an iffy prospect in our area. We just get so much rain in the summer and have such a short growing season. There is a couple here in town who decided to only eat Alaskan for one year and they blogged about it. It was pretty impressive to read. But I don’t think I could give up my coffee, chocolate, bananas, orange juice, etc. and go totally local like they did!
Linda harper says
I do care where our food comes from and what’s been done to it. A few years back when we heard the average produce and meat travels 1500 to your plate. We live in South Carolina and we decided we were going to try to grow and can food in season to use year round. This year has been much colder but last year we had greens and cold weather crops all through the winter. We also built a greenhouse both to start our plants and to grow year round. In fact, right now in January we have the best tomato crop every as well as radishes, lettuces and other greens. We just harvested the last of our broccoli. We do heat it and without the tomatoes we could probably get the heat lower but tomatoes started in July will have their fruit set by November and then it’s just ripening and we keep the greenhouse in the 40s and the big tomato plants can survive. We are looking into building a rocket mass heater for the greenhouse to be even more self-sufficient with it. We do tons of gardening and canning and are in the midst of expanding our one acre even more to produce! We have tons of berries because I’m from the Northwest and love berries and they are all organic and no sprays. I just do not like our long-distance food and all of the hands it goes through to get to us. It’s a very fragile system to depend on in my opinion, plus we eat better picking it and eating it in the same day and get exercise and sunshine!
Catherine Foster says
I do care, too, and now look at all the labels for my produce. I’m a big fan of Fuji apples, which are grown in Washington State (next door to me in Oregon). Round about June I start looking at the stickers. One day they’ll say Washington, the next Chile or New Zealand. The bins don’t change; it’s still Fuji apples, and there’s no big signs announcing the changeover. So I just have to be alert to the stickers. Then I stop eating apples till fall. Not being able to eat them in the summer makes me appreciate them that much more when I can.
Bettina says
I really do care. Our journey to eat local began many years ago when I joined a CSA – Community Supported Agriculture. For one price, paid at the beginning of the season, you are paying for a portion of a farmer’s crop. You are also taking the risk with the farmer. Most CSA’s are organic, and you WILL get to know your farmer over the growing season.
Once a week during the growing season, you receive a box of produce – your “share” of the farmer’s crop.
It’s a great way to eat healthy. I always end up canning and freezing a portion of each week’s produce. During the height of the growing season, I will head up to the farmer’s market and buy large quantities of produce to make into jam, salsas, sauces, etc. to can and freeze.
I agree with the earlier poster who recommended Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. It will change the way you think about your food.
Mavis Butterfield says
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver is such a great book! I’ve read it several times.
Shannon says
Besides eating local, we try to reduce packaging. Tomatoes and plumbs don’t need to be packaged in a hard plastic case! Up here in Interior Alaska, we have a short growing season. So, we freeze and can a lot of the produce we grow. We hope to do more drying, too. Freezing is a great option for us because we can leave our freezers (we have 3) outside in winter, where it hardly ever gets above freezing (and, it’s bad for a variety of reasons when it does). This saves on electricity.
Linda Goudelock says
Mexico and Canada, but I refuse to buy produce or even canned foods from anywhere else. I’m usually in the southern US during the winter and can get locally grown foods…I try to eat seasonally and remember, there’s always the freezer veggies. they’re frozen on site. I also try to avoid GMO foods. it’s getting harder and harder to find and eat whole, natural food
Kathy Stevens says
We eat local, except for bananas and navel oranges, both of which my husband is loath to give up. Oh, and some wines, LOL. But seriously, we are making a real effort to grow our own, 12 months of the year, which is all new to me (we recently moved here from Southern CA, to the Piedmont of NC…..) I have an 18 square foot garden / greenhouse, plus deck boxes and pots for tomatoes, etc. That may not sound like much growing area, but there are only two of us. Now, I’m going to add bean sprouts to the picture. We get our meats from a local organic farm, too.
Sylvia Draughn says
I am very concerned about our food sources. I am also very concerned about GM foods. I will looked for those that are marked Non GM. It has become scary. Now “they” tells us not to feed our dogs wheat. But what about the humans? Are our animals now being taken better care of than we are?
Cecily says
Okay, so I grow my own produce and glean fruit in season because it tastes better and freeze whatever we don’t eat fresh. I won’t buy stone fruit, watermelon or berries out of season because they are bland and mushy. Now here is where I am in the minority. I buy some produce that isn’t local because I simply cannot grow it here. Oranges, bananas, avocados, lemons, limes etc. I also buy these out of season as there is little decernable
Cecily says
quality between in and out of season. Do I feel guilty about it? Not a chance! I love variety and I will buy that imported, out of season vanilla bean, Buddha’s hand and key lime occasionally. I do what I can and if I can’t and the quality is there I don’t feel bad about buying it.
Elaine S says
I am extremely concerned about where my food comes from! We are what we eat (from a nursing point of view I see this every day in my patients health) I try to grow all I can from heirloom seeds, raise chickens and rabbits. We hunt for deer which replaces our beef. My main by or raise local problem is fish. I adore seafood but buying local means BP tainted/gulf seafood. Have been toying with an aquaponics set up for freshwater fish and more grow space for veggies. Wish me luck!
Toni says
Living in Minnesota it is hard to eat local in the winter unless preserved. But in the summer we have a couple of raised gardens here in the city… My mom gave me some tomatoes she had started from seed, that she got from a friend…the friend said they were heirloom, long lasting, yellow tomatoes. It is Jan 9, -10 degrees and a foot of snow on the ground… I still have garden fresh tomatoes… They are great, but I’m wondering if anyone really knows what the name might be. They have very few seeds and the ones I do find are tiny! They also seem to be more pink then yellow… Like the original ones. I hope it will work to save the seeds this year.
Becky says
I recently learned of the Opal variety of apples that resists browning. So they’re already available, although I have not seen them in our area stores. Personally, I’ve never been bothered by a little oxidation and I have made strides to cut back on sugar, so those two selling points don’t impress me much.
I’d like to be able to say that I care more than I do where my food’s coming from. But the truth is, my wallet can only afford so much. I, too, have often wondered at a local apple orchard selling their apples to us in the grocery store for more than double the cost of the other apples. I’d like to support the smaller businesses. But if I go to the store with $5 to buy fruit to last our family for a few days… it’s going to be a bag of out-of-state citrus or apples, rather than two or three locally grown apples. Location matters, of course. I’m in northern MN. It seems like it’s winter almost year round here, so that limits local food availability.
Rene says
Opal apples brown pretty quickly. They are cross bred. (They are one of my favorite varieties and I get a few lugs of organic ones each year.) I think you’re thinking of the GMO ones that were just approved, the ones that don’t brown. I don’t think those are on the market yet. I won’t be eating them . . .
Diana says
I grow as much of our food as I possible. When we need to buy something it is almost always local and what is in season. We eat very little food that has a label but when it does I always look to see where it was processed. We got to a produce supplier called Specialty Produce that does most of the supplying to the restaurants in our area. They get all their items directly from the farmers with no middle man. The produce is gorgeous and they have unique varieties. We also get local honey, bread, fresh pasta, and other items ordered through them. We do not ever shop at a chain grocery store such as Vons, or Albertsons.
Jamie says
Yes, I absolutely care where my food comes from. I was just looking on a package of grapefruit today and was at least pleased to see that they were grown in Florida and not another country…I hope to join a vegetable CSA and a meat/egg CSA in my area this year and plan on increasing the output of my garden from 95 lbs. last year to 200 lbs. this year.
Mrs. Mac says
I don’t buy out of season fruit (tomatoes, berries, melon, etc.). They taste so much better when you wait until in season. I grow, can and freeze from our garden and the local u-pick farm. Jams, juice concentrates and apple sauce come from our yard. Rhubarb is frozen for pies too. Most of the produce (lettuce, celery, carrots) we buy in the winter is organic from California (several states away). We sprout seeds for salad/sandwich toppings .. and am interested in trying my hand at growing some winter lettuce indoors.
Karen at A Glimpse Into My Reveries says
I do care where our food comes from, mostly because I worry about poisons (pesticides, herbicides) and GMOs, which I consider genetically mutated organisms. I have health issues and am hoping that purer food will support my mending body.
I am trying to grow heirloom and organic vegetables and take great inspiration from your blog and newsletters. We eat very few fresh fruits during winter mostly due to poor and unappealing taste. I can fruits from Washington and eat county-local apples. I intend to expand my food preserving efforts this coming growing season.
We bought chicken, ground beef and ham from Zaycon for the first time this fall. I’ve been quite impressed with the freshness and flavor!
Oh, and by the way, I applaud your decision breakup with the produce man. Better the food go to food banks.
Heather M. says
Have you read, Eating on the Wild Side? It talks about how apples today offer a fraction of the nutrients and cancer fighting properties that they did thirty years ago. All food has been modified to be sweeter and tastier, from the seeds that we plant.
Mavis Butterfield says
No, but thanks for the book recommendation!
Michelle Wright says
Definitely care. VERY much. I’m saddened by the state of our food with the chemicals etc. The more I learn the more careful I am. I love living in WA and just with that we had a longer growing season. I buy local. I can, dehydrate, freeze etc so I can eat produce I have grown myself. I hate buying produce at the store and I do buy organic.
Sarah says
Thankfully living on a farm has advantages. We grow our own chicken, duck, and soon beef. Eggs come from the girls and I have farmer friends that I get milk, cheese, and produce from. In Minnesota its hard to get good local produce during the winter but storing things in our root cellar helps keep costs down. We still have about 2 bushels of apples and a few hundred pounds of potatoes in there. 🙂
Its also pretty eye opening living out here as to just what gets sprayed on fields. Our neighbor is a ‘conventional’ farmer. Frankly I’ll never eat soy again in my life after watching him. Over the last couple years I’ve also become very diligent asking about where seafood is harvested. We are not buying any pacific caught seafood until the EPA and seafood companies start allowing radiation information to be released. Sad world sometimes.
Kathryn Hardage says
Yes, I care very much where my food comes from. We have completely changed our dietary habits and cooking and shop as often as possible at local Farmers Markets. I love supporting the local producers and am learning to preserve, can, dehydrate, ferment, and soon, even grow, more of my own food. The long-distance and GMO food economy is killing our bodies as well as our planet. It has been a case of taking one little step at a time to change things for our family. Thanks for bringing up this very timely topic. You may love to check out Permaculture Design and also Geoff Lawton’s video on a neighborhood in Davis, CA. http://www.ecofilms.com.au/americas-forgotten-food-forest-suburb-rediscovered/ Take care.
Taryn (forkandneedle) says
Maybe a bit late here… but we live on a farm and don’t go to the grocery store very often. We eat in season and have all sorts of ways of storing abundant seasonal produce for those quieter times of year. I also try to buy local produce as much as possible… but we need to think carefully about this. On our farm (in New Zealand) we produce lamb, most of which is exported to the northern hemisphere. Our lamb is grown on green pasture all year and they have a great life and plenty of sunshine, and we’re pretty good at managing it efficiently. A Lincoln University research project done a couple of years ago studied carbon footprints and found that NZ lamb, grown here and transported to the UK, had a smaller carbon footprint than their locally grown product. All to do with the way we grow our lamb. It is marketed in the alternate seasons to the UK’s (and other Nth Hem) as ‘best in season’. I’m sure you’d find similar results for other New Zealand produce – we’re pretty good at farming here. 🙂
Lauren says
Great article! I wanted to add something interesting…my husband and I recently moved to México and noticed that its hard to actually find MEXICAN produce. Shockingly, the majority of the produce and some meat is imported from the US and Canadá . We are in Baja California so the climate is ver y mild and warm year round. So we’ve found it strange that local produce is only available once a week at the “sobre ruedas” or farmers market with American produce mixed in. When we lived in the US, we would note most of the produce available was grown in México. Weird right? Hoping to move into a home with a large yard soon so we can start growing food and raising “pollitos” to lay eggs. You are an inspiration!
Blessings from Baja
Mavis Butterfield says
Lauren I think that is so strange that you are living in Mexico and the food is imported! Crazy!!
Rene says
A few years ago Mexico had two years of terrible weather but they maintained their same export level to the US. Mexicans were starving but their local crops made more $ going to the US. The answer is always to follow the money . . . my local independent grocer was the one who shared that news with me.
Tina says
We do a lot of canning and freezing of tomatoes, peppers, beans, corn and zukes. We make pickles with our cucumbers. Can our stewed tomatoes, apple and pumpkin pie fillings. Our fresh might be an occasional tomato from a Canadian Hot House. We refuse to buy produce from out of our country other than Canada. We started reading labels of origin 2 years ago and what an eye opener. We are fortunate enough to have a produce stand close by but miss them when they close during winter months.
Leslie says
I see a lot of people are using the word “organic.” How do you all use that word? I always assume people use that word while referring to commercial organic produce. Thoughts? Thanks!
Barbara says
I care very much. I saw the very first 747 roll out for her maiden flight in Wichita, Kansas, and that’s what really changed the way in which we received food from then on. Big airplanes make large fast shipment possible. I am fortunate to live in Florida where every weekend I can buy fresh, nearly locally grown produce. Most of it comes from an area between Orlando and Tampa, or about 75 miles away. There is also a farm stand within a long walking distance of our house. I am growing lettuce all winter in pots in my driveway, even though I had to bring them indoors for a couple of days this week during a rare freeze. In our retirement community, we are forbidden from growing a real garden except in the community garden plot, which is inconvenient, frequently has poisonous snakes, and has been impossible in which to have a small portion for the past 11 years. I cannot disagree with their reasoning; we are next to a national forest, and bears have come many times to rip out screens just to get to cat or dog food left on porches. If you plant it, they will come. Evidently they don’t like lettuce and I do, so we are in harmony.
Cynthia Skelton says
I care about where my produce comes from. From spring til autumn, almost all of my produce comes from my garden, my parents garden (they live 30 miles away, but bring surplus when they are already getting together with me), or from my local farmers market (that is right outside the door of my job). During this time, I dehydrate as much as I can. I dehydrated loads of peppers, tomatoes, zucchini, carrots, and greens. I also visit a pick-your-own orchard and buy 100+ pounds of apples to eat fresh and dehydrate for later.
In winter, it is hard to eat local since I live in the Northern Midwest. Sometimes I do resort to grocery store produce, although not frequently. I have a tiny bit of lettuce growing indoors, and plan to expand this next year. I do fall back on my dehydrated veg a lot during the winter. This coming year I plan to learn to can so I can have an even larger percentage of my food from local farmers.
My local farmers are just wonderful people. Very nice, very informative. I love being able to support them. During the growing season, I enjoyed buying from them, and buying extra to dehydrate so that even in winter, I could enjoy the fruits of their labor.
Maria says
I love to buy local when I can and when it is in season, BUT importing isn’t such a bad thing. It keeps the global economy moving. And personally I love bananas, and they don’t grow those locally! I am in the frozen Northwest.