This is a concept I simultaneously embrace and resist. I believe in having what my mother terms an “attitude of gratitude” as all we are given are gifts and we are entrusted with their care. The food on our table is cheap and plentiful; we can eat healthfully and frugally with ease. Right? Always the cynic, I just know it can’t be that simple. And sure enough, it isn’t.
I have been operating under the belief for many years that my food choices evolved from a desire to eat a healthy diet and tread lightly on the earth. Emphasis on the word “evolved”. I studiously avoid becoming dogmatic about anything I put in my mouth. I simply resolve to do the best I can with what I have to work with.
I have just finished reading Plenty: One Man, One Woman, and a Raucous Year of Eating Locally, by Alisa Smith and J.B. MacKinnon. These two free-lance journalists from Vancouver B.C. challenged themselves in the name of reducing emissions and reliance on fossil fuels to eat only from a 100-mile radius for one year. They gave themselves a break when they traveled, which seemed to be quite a bit, given their professions. As with all decisions of this magnitude, there is a danger in becoming dogmatic and this book comes close but does not take that particular plunge, thank goodness. I came away from it with some more food for thought – pardon the pun – and a desire to explore more of the local food options in my community.
Off to the farmer’s market!
