100 mile diet: local eating for global change
i remember the first time i heard about the 100 mile diet–i immediately thought, “wow, cool–i think i already do that, well, sort of.”
and it’s true. i get my veggies from the farmers market & urban organics (thanks kristina) and buy local baked breads, but upon closer inspection i realized certain things like my beloved soy milk & soy ice creams were traveling a great distance to their final destination–my belly.
as NYers, we are so lucky to have juice bars & raw food restaurants that offer nut milks & new vegan ice cream shops are popping up all over my neighborhood (you’ll have to wait for their reviews). so, it is indeed possible to accomplish a 100 mile diet, as i would need it. but would i be able to sustain it as a lifestyle choice? is what i do already “good enough” or was that a big fat lie i told myself so i could stay entrenched in old habits that will ultimately reduce planet earth to a burnt out shell? oh the pressure!
100milediet.org luckily offers some helpful hints to ease into transition. check out their map tool for your 100 mile radius. they also suggest hosting a fun 100 mile diet dinner party–i am in love with this idea. i plan to have one ASAP–as soon as NYC is over the flu–everyone seems down for the count. i think it’s a great way for people to become aware of what their ingesting, where it came from & how it got here.
this awareness & connection to things/people is something americans have lost. we have all been shocked by the ease with which financial institutions have shunned their customers. foreclosures, reducing credit lines, increasing fees–it would seem they have no heart. and why should they–we have no relationship with them. long gone are the days when you knew your banker’s name & met with them face to face. if hard times hit, they felt compassion. unfortunately, now it’s all about the bottom line & that sucks.
the same is true with our food. we may know our grocery store manager & check out clerks by name–or not. but we certainly have never shaken the hand of the milkman, butcher or farmer bringing these staples to the store.
growing up in houston, i lived off a road named FM1960–the FM stands for farm-to-market. and it was. i remember going shopping with my mom for in-season fruits & veggies at strack farms. it was awesome! the corn fields were right there. the tomatoes vines, right there. now, they’ve been forced to stop farming and have moved into the restaurant business. while the family still thrives, the community has lost a rich contributor; a place where the earth & people come together in the most basic of ways. imagine–once being able to buy fresh local produce in your neighborhood but now can only get stuff hauled in from california, florida or even chile, ecuador, brazil. it makes no sense
sadly, this story is hardly unique. it’s hard, in most places, to find what you need locally precisely because small farms have been inched out. it takes lots of research & dedication to seek out locally harvested goods. where would you even start to find local wheat in your community? it can be overwhelming, but if you step back & look at it, the daunting is absolutely why you must try. once you see the dysfunction/corruption of our food supply chain, you will be called to arms. if you can’t quite pull off the 100 mile idea, you will at least be more inclined to find eco-minded, neighborly options in your community. for instance, you might be inspired to eat more seasonally savvy. blueberries will be savored fresh in july–at their peak–not fresh off the plane from south america.
if this sounds like too much research & work for your next event, no worries–let someone do it for you. only one caterer here in NYC offers a 100 mile diet menu–great performances. their dedication to people was present from the beginning. liz neumark started this fantastic business as a way for visual & performance artists to support themselves. that was 26 years ago–it was called artists as waitresses. business has grown & so has her vision. they also recently acquired katchkie farm in kinderhook to grow their own organic foods. roots are slowly taking hold, but in time, the farm (which also houses the sylvia center ; a place for at-risk kids to witness the great joy of foods) will provide seasonal fruits & veggies.
the 100 mile diet helps fight for local farmers buy reminding you how powerful your shopping choices really are. even if you don’t go in 100%, you will be making a difference & becoming more aware as you go.
Cool! I’m going to check out Great Performances since they already have a working relationship with Big Apple Circus.