I’m really blessed to live in an area where a wide variety of foods grow well, and it’s sad that for many years the link between the farmer/orchardist and the consumer was broken. Certainly, we grew the food, but then it was sent off to some big company for processing. In the community, we went to the grocery store and bought ‘similar’ food from other regions.
How crazy is that? But then again, does it even matter?
In the past few years, the 100 Mile Diet has become a buzz-phrase for local eating, basically advocating shortening the chain between grower and consumer. Folks who embrace this are often called locavores. They choose food that is grown in their own region, buying it as directly as possible from the grower.
Here are some foods that are grown in my area (not an all-inclusive list):
Fruit: Apples, cherries, peaches, pears, apricots, plums, grapes, raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries
Nuts: Walnuts, hazelnuts
Meat: Beef, chicken, lamb, fish, bison
Vegetables: Too many to name!
Grain: Wheat, oats, spelt, khorasan
Other: Honey, cheese, wine
What’s growing in your area? Anything you haven’t tried that you’d like to? What one local food could you track down and try this week?
Are you counting lentils in with the veggies? I wish someone would grow rice somehow around here… Eggs are important too…and I can get local yogurt too!
Hmm, I wasn’t thinking of lentils or eggs. I guess they’re both ‘other’. Handy section to have, that ‘other’!
That’s cool! I never thought about that. I like to eat local corn! YUM!!