Ecologue.com

Buy Locally: Your Taste Buds Will Thank You

Photo by Michelle Lam

Locally sourced greens for sale at a farmers' market

By Laurel Kallenbach

We live in an era in which our palettes are truly spoiled. In one meal, we might dine on Hawaiian mahi-mahi and pineapple, Thai jasmine rice, fresh asparagus spears, and Belgian chocolate. We’ve truly forgotten what it means to eat according to the seasons. After all, while North America is in the midst of winter, that luscious, fresh asparagus is in the midst of summer in Peru.

Unfortunately for us, the environment pays for all the fossil fuels required to import these treats from far-flung locations. A fruit or vegetable’s current average road trip from field to fork is about 1,300 miles, according to The Eco-Foods Guide, by Cynthia Barstow (New Society Publishers, 2002). “Buying food grown near home is one action we can take that makes sense for us and cents for our farmers,” writes Barstow. “Shorten the distance, lessen the cost and waste, support your neighbor, and save valuable open agricultural land.”

Another difficulty is that food shipped so far loses both flavor and nutritional value over time, says Deborah Madison, cookbook author and the founding chef of the renowned restaurant The Greens in San Francisco. Her most recent book is Local Flavors: Cooking and Eating from America’s Farmers’ Markets (Broadway Books, 2002). “The fresher the food, the more vitality it has and the more it nurtures you,” she points out. “Too often, produce is picked before it’s ripe so it won’t go bad while trucking across the continent. Eating fruit should be a succulent, beguiling treat, yet shamefully, it rarely is.”

One solution is to eat foods only when they’re in season in your area, which means supporting local farmers. Take your basket to the farmer’s market, chat with the individuals who grow that food, and enjoy the array of fresh-picked organic eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, and summer squash just begging to be grilled with savory herbs and served over pasta. “When food is only hours off the plant, it tastes so good that preparing it isn’t complicated,” says Madison. “Simply slicing fresh vegetables and spreading them on a platter creates a flavorful masterpiece. Foods that are in season together always taste good together, which is why you can feel confident when cooking intuitively with food from the farmers’ market.”

Summertime is when the eating is easy, but in winter, we’re tempted to buy nonlocal foods. With a little effort, however, you can continue to dine well by relying on the abundance of winter gardens and food cellars. Although farmer’s markets are much more likely to be closed for the season, you can get a good idea of what foods are in season by seeing which foods are most vibrant and affordable in your supermarket, Madison notes. Make a plan for buying and preparing seasonal produce, then start to plan delicious meals built around the cycles of the earth—not around shipping and air freight schedules. Your taste buds and the environment will appreciate the difference.

Sources: The Farmers’ Market Cookbook, by Nina Planck (Hodder & Stoughton, London, 2001); Local Flavors, by Deborah Madison (Broadway Books, 2002)

Appreciate Your Local Foods

Shop at farmer’s markets. You can not only meet the growers of your food but also ask about the freshness, find out whether it’s organic or not, and if you’re lucky, get some cooking tips. Farmer’s markets put money directly into the pockets of small family farmers who struggle to survive in an era of big box stores. Many markets close for the winter, but as more customers patronize them, farmers are encouraged to expand their facilities to accommodate wintered-over foods, says food writer and chef Deborah Madison.

Join a CSA (community-supported agriculture). If available in your area, sign up with a local farm program. For a fee, you can receive a weekly share of just-picked, fresh foods. With widespread support, local farmers can diversify their crops to offer customers an assortment of seasonal produce or other farm products such as eggs and honey. CSA shares usually come in bulk, so you can capitalize on a bumper crop by canning, freezing, or storing those foods. Extras can also be shared with friends or neighbors.

Ask your grocer to consider stocking local foods. Large, corporate-owned grocery chains occasionally sell locally grown foods, but they rarely identify them because the supply is too small to meet consumer demands, notes Madison. Frequent food co-ops or family-owned grocery stores that make it a priority to carry local produce.

Stay dedicated, even when you’re not perfect. Few people can eat seasonally 100 percent of the time, so concentrate instead on continually challenging yourself to go a step further. “It’s human nature to be curious about foreign foods, and we love to eat them,” says Madison. Fortunately, restaurants and grocerys have begun to feature gourmet local foods on menus and on shelves, so eating seasonally feels exotic.

Eco Eats

Buy Locally: Your Taste Buds Will Thank You

Appreciate Your Local Foods

Advertisement