I mentioned recently that we had watched the DVD of "An Inconvenient Truth." We also learned recently that in the United States, the average meal travels 1,200 miles from where it starts to wind up on your plate. Do that 3 times a day for 365 days per year, and multiply by the population of the United States, and you realize that the simple act of eating contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions and global warming.
So, we decided to see how much we could do to buy local food, to reduce the carbon footprint of our meals. On Sunday evening we had an entirely local food feast, using ingredients either grown in our back yard or purchased at the Carrboro Farmer's Market. We grilled bratwursts, red onions and green and red bell peppers, made a homemade slaw, ate some homegrown tomatoes from our garden, and I baked bread. Okay, I will admit that the flour and yeast used to make the bread dough were not locally produced, but the finished product came out of our oven and to the table. Tonight we did not do quite as well, but still ate chef's salads made with locally grown lettuce, homegrown tomatoes, and topped with locally produced boiled eggs and grilled chicken strips using chickens raised here in North Carolina, and a salad dressing made in our kitchen. Of course, the blood orange and dried cranberries in the salad, and the feta cheese, were not local products, but most of the meal didn't travel all that far to become our dinner.
When it comes to local Farmer's Markets, our routine has been to visit the big farmer's market in Raleigh or the one we like best in Carrboro (near Chapel Hill). But each one of those trips is about a twenty to thirty minute drive from Apex. Next Saturday, we are pleased that Apex will be opening a Farmer's Market. I'll probably take my digital camera down and shoot some pictures of it for the blog next week. We are trying to moderate our expectations given that this will be the first weekend for this market, but we are hoping people turn out to support the farmers and producers who choose to set up stands in Apex. We are hoping to limit our trips to the other markets to once a month each, and make a regular habit of hitting the new one here in town. I'll let you know how it goes.
1 comments:
This is a very interesting post. At least a couple of times a month I walk to the local farmers’ market and pick up some fruits and vegetables, so I’m very sympathetic to your thesis.
As it happens, a report has just been published on the concept of “food miles,” and it comes to the conclusion that eating local food does not always have the lowest carbon footprint. The academic report is at http://www.lincoln.ac.nz/story_images/2328_RR285_s9760.pdf and a NYT article on it is at http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/06/opinion/06mcwilliams.html?ex=1187323200&en=8c9f63464e9de22e&ei=5070. I was not involved in the study or the NYT article and submit it merely as food for thought. At a minimum, I think it suggests that food miles are at least a little more complicated than they might appear at first.
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