9.19.2008

Trying to Eat Locally


Since I posted my initial thoughts on
eating locally and slowly, I have:

•finished reading
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle
•visited 4 different local farmer's markets and actually asked questions regarding the locations of the farms and the farming practices instead of just shoving money in people's hands and walking away
•purchased almost solely organic produce
•slowed down in the supermarket thinking of the "Vegetannual" and considering which of the items for sale were actually in season locally before I purchased them, looked at the stickers and labels on produce and chose only those grown in my home state California, which I decided is my beginner's definition of "local". Mind you, I do understand that it being summer right now and California, it has been super easy for me to eat in season and locally. We'll see how winter goes...
•switched my family from processed high sugar flavored yogurt to plain organic yogurt and started a new breakfast habit of plain yogurt with fresh berries and organic granola. Everyone loves it!
•bought some grass fed steaks and grilled 'em
•got a haircut and a pedicure (OK, this has nothing to do with food, but Yay!, right?)
•bought a grass fed pork shank
•used my aging cookbooks and Google to try to determine what a shank is and how to cook one
•called my mom halfway through the cooking of the shank for emergency troubleshooting
•ruined the pork shank but cheerily attempted to masticate some of it with my family before tossing the rest, Omega 3's and grass fed premium down the drain
•bought cuts of meat from the meat counter in the supermarket for maybe the 7th time in my life
•attempted to have a conversation with the butcher about the geographic origins of the chicken I wanted to purchase
•realized the "butcher" was actually some college aged dude who didn't know anything:

Me: Hi! Do you know where this chicken comes from?
Butcher: Uh...I think all of our chicken is from Foster Farms
Me: So, where is Foster Farms? I mean, I know they are a huge national company, but where do they actually raise the chickens?
Butcher: I don't know.
(Then he walked out from behind the meat counter to the pre-packaged chicken area and started trying to read the Foster Farms labels, so I did, too, until he found one and shared with me that)
Butcher: Hey, here you go, it says "California Grown"

I'm pretty proud of myself for beginning to take seriously the quest for at least KNOWING where our food comes from and how its been treated before it gets to us. And for making the effort to discuss all of these ideas and issues about food with my husband, convincing a man who mostly views food as fuel and would rather not have to eat as it interrupts his day, to change his eating habits.

Now, I've also gotten busy and resorted to last minute processed foods and had a hard time keeping up with the frequent shopping that organic produce necessitates. But, at least we're giving it a go.

Next on my plate? I'm reading
The Omnivore's Dilemma now. So, we'll see where that leads...