100 mile diet on CNN

[Jennie_in_Iowa]

Wow. I thought I'd have to wait another 5-10 years before I saw CNN carrying a story on something like the 100 mile diet. But, front and center of their "Living" section is the following article.

Farmers markets feed the 100-mile diet
By Victoria Spencer

(LifeWire) -- If the food hasn't been grown within 100 miles of where we live -- we won't buy it. That is the pledge concerned foodies across the country are taking for the entire month of September.

At its extreme, the 100-mile diet means no coffee, no spices and no chocolate. Most people don't go that far, but they do embrace buying food grown and raised locally where possible.

Freshness, energy conservation and contributing to the regional economy are among the reasons people offer for buying local food. It's a growing trend across the country.

Farmers markets

Estimated sales at farmers markets rose from $888 million in 2000 to $1 billion in 2005, according to a 2006 USDA survey.

There are now more than 4,300 markets nationwide -- an 18 percent increase from 1994 through 2006 -- where local farmers sell directly to the public the fruit, vegetables, meat, fish, poultry, eggs, dairy and baked goods they have grown, raised, caught and made.

Shoppers surveyed since 1990 say they most appreciate farmers markets for their high-quality, fresh produce -- the vegetables, herbs and fruits often are harvested within 24 hours of being sold. Photo Visit Union Square Greenmarket farmer's market »

Produce sold in supermarkets, on the other hand, has traveled an average of 1,300 miles from farm to shelf, according to the University of Massachusetts Extension, and is chosen for its ability to withstand industrial harvesting and shipping.

Shopping at a farmers market, though, is not for everyone. For starters, the markets usually are held outdoors, once or twice a week, so convenience is an issue. Also, vendors sell what is in season locally, which means fragrant strawberries in the late spring but not in the winter.

In some ways, though, farmers markets offer more choice. Sheila Neal, manager of the Carrboro Farmers' Market in North Carolina, says that farmers markets sell "a diversity and variety of fruit and vegetables not found in the supermarket." While a grocery store may carry three varieties of pears year round, an orchard stand at the market may offer more than 10 varieties when the harvest is at its peak.

How do prices at farmer's markets compare to those offered by supermarkets or grocery stores? There is little current research on the subject and what is available looks at small sample sizes. Two older, more rigorous studies, one from 1994 and the other from 2002, give the price advantage to farmers markets.

"Experience with my own market suggests that there is a relative price advantage with supermarkets because of economies of scale. But I suspect price differentials vary widely from community to community," according to Duncan L. Hilchey, an agriculture development specialist with the Community and Rural Development Institute at Cornell University.

He added that "when you add up all the external costs such as environmental damage, the pollution generated by long-haul transport, water supply subsidies to Western farmers (who are large suppliers of supermarket produce), and the social costs of poorly treated farm labor, I believe you will find that food purchased from you local farmers market is much cheaper."

Social, environmental reasons

Buying local food also can be a social statement. Shoppers buying from local farms are supporting the regional economy, helping to preserve family farms and getting to know the people who raise their food. There's also an environmental benefit to buying local food. Farms are relatively close to the markets where they sell their food (usually within 50 to 250 miles), so they use less energy and other resources getting their produce to market.

Responding to consumer demand, large and small food store retailers have increased the amount of organic food on sale but the larger operations, in particular, face challenges in buying local given their high-volume and centralized distribution systems. Whole Foods Market Inc., which operates a regional distribution system, has hired foragers to seek out more regional items for their stores.

Taking a share in a farm

Community supported agriculture groups, or CSAs, are one way to take buying local food a step further. By paying to join a CSA farm, consumers essentially take a share in the farm for the season, typically late spring through early fall, and in return receive a box of produce from the farm each week.
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New Yorker Mary Jo Johnson says being part of Norwich Hill Farm CSA "has helped me to try a lot of things I'd never tried before, like kale and kohlrabi." Others say the unpredictability and, sometimes, unfamiliarity of the produce makes it hard to prepare meals but CSAs usually provide advice and recipes to help.

For CSA member Johnson, the motivation for shopping local is both political and practical. "It makes me feel connected to the people who are producing what I need for my health," she said. And, it is "so much fun."

They also have a companion article outlining some of the problems plaguing the expansion and "corporation-ifying" (My word) of the organic movement.
http://www.time.com/time/nation/arti...ef=werecommend

[uprooted_kentuckian]

Nice find Jennie. I'm going to have to look into eating "local" more.

[Ohiorganic]

Eating local is the new organic. Yes UK you should look into eating local. i suspect in the next 5 to 10 years it will be the only safe food option for us Americans and those who did not plan ahead will be outta luck as far as food supplies.

The US food systems gets scarier and scarier by the minute. We have way too much food being imported from China and way too few inspections of any of our food both domestic and imports.

That said, I do not agree with a 100% omission of any food that is not grown within 100 miles of my farm. I do eat around 85% to 90% local/within 50 miles of my farm but I do like bananas, chocolate and coffee and do not want to give up those luxuries.

I do find it fascinating to read how people cope with the 100 mile diet. On the west coast and in the south it would be fairly easy to do this as food can be grown all year but in the north if you do not know how to put up food (canning, drying, freezing, buying storable items such as garlic, carrots, winter squash, onions, rutabagas, parsnips, cabbages, etc.,) about all you would be eating in winter is meat

[bunkie]

ohio...no chocolate??? i'm going to have to purchase a cocoa bush/plant/tree?! we have a potted banana tree already!

so happy to see it on CNN jennie! wonderful progress...but do we have to corporatize it?!:O)

[Jennie_in_Iowa]

Originally Posted by bunkie

...but do we have to corporatize it?!:O)

My vote is 'no' but I understand the argument of using the system that's in place to further the organic movement. But, it only works as a temporary fix until we can get our own system in place. i.e. CSA's, co-ops, etc. It is sadly already starting to break down in some cases, as that article I linked to states.

[Locavore]

Originally Posted by Ohiorganic

That said, I do not agree with a 100% omission of any food that is not grown within 100 miles of my farm. I do eat around 85% to 90% local/within 50 miles of my farm but I do like bananas, chocolate and coffee and do not want to give up those luxuries.

I do find it fascinating to read how people cope with the 100 mile diet. On the west coast and in the south it would be fairly easy to do this as food can be grown all year but in the north if you do not know how to put up food (canning, drying, freezing, buying storable items such as garlic, carrots, winter squash, onions, rutabagas, parsnips, cabbages, etc.,) about all you would be eating in winter is meat

I'm pretty darn impressed with your 85%-90% within a 50 mile radius average--I think you deserve your bananas and coffee! A few luxuries like these keep things interesting. Most people recognize chocolate as a luxury, but who thinks of asperagus in the fall as a luxury? The problem is that out-of-season food is seen as the norm, not the luxury (remember when an orange at Christmas was the ultimate in luxury? I don't but my mom remembers it fondly).

I, too, am interested in how people from different regions deal with the challenge. I like to remind people that it is really a matter of degree--we can all make an impact to the degree that we are able to find local food. If we each had to choose to be either 100% local or 100% import, we would never turn this around!

I tell people to start with the things that are easy to find and to store, and then move out from there. If you find a good local source for meat, but there isn't one for flour, that's ok--buy the meat anyway!

Of course, the best place to start is in our own back yards, so we all get bonus points for gardening!

[HOD]

Just put your fridge 100 miles from your mouth... Now THATS a diet.

Hod

[Ohiorganic]

Originally Posted by HOD

Just put your fridge 100 miles from your mouth... Now THATS a diet.

Hod

Than we would start using the neighbors fridges

[Jennie_in_Iowa]

Originally Posted by HOD

Just put your fridge 100 miles from your mouth... Now THATS a diet.

Hod

LOLROFL! That was the funniest thing I've seen all day. And totally how I feel right now.

[noble soil servant]

I think the trend toward locally grown food is only going to increase with not only farmers markets but resturants and distributers getting into the act. I'm sure their marketing minds will see the benifit. People are slowly (notice i said slowly, most people don't care what they put in their mouths) realizing the unstablenes of their food supply and locally grown is one of the few ways to control what we eat. In a recent trip to england I was very impressed by the food lables of their produce, the lables were very concise with the region of england it was grown in and the name of the actual person who grew it. The best informition we get here is the country of origen, if we are lucky. Recently in a produce isle of wal-mart they had watermelon labled 'locally grown' and it was from somewhere in texas, and I'm in missouri! What a joke. It is time for updated food labeling in this country, but I'm sure thats not news to anyone here.