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Shut Up & Eat?

by Jen Maiser

Amy Stewart's commentary on NPR's All Things Considered this week was a topic of conversation among ELC blog authors this week.  While Ms. Stewart believes that we should all "shut up and eat," I hardly think that many of us will be following her directive anytime soon.  Michael Pollan often speaks about the magic of voting with our forks.  Unlike major, huge, unsurmountable issues that our world faces, food issues are something that we all decide on many times a day.  I personally choose to put my hard-earned money in the hands of local farmers and local cheesemakers and local artisans over international conglomerates and mega-corporations. 

Ms. Stewart suggests that instead of focusing on where our food comes from, we should try taking public transportation or turning down the thermostat.  Most of us who are conscious enough to focus on where our food comes from don't turn off that consciousness when it comes to these sort of things -- we tend to tread lightly on the earth in many ways.

While I suspect that Ms. Stewart was trying to be sensationalist and contrarian about some of the pedantic, minutia-oriented conversations that can occur around food (and that many of us tire of at some point), I don't think that an overarching declaration against eating local is the answer.

Below, you'll find some opinions from other ELC authors around the nation.  Check them out -- I think they're fantastic.

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from Liz (Maine):

No doubt local eating is old news where you live in California, the land of plenty. But it is an absolute triumph that the rest of America is finally paying attention to what goes on its dinner plate. Please don't begrudge us Mainers or Michiganders or Minnesotans for finally catching on to what you savvy Californians have known all along: that fresher foods taste better. What's more is that we're finding we can produce our food just as well, if not better than your fine state, cutting out the factory farms, middlemen, and days of travel on the way.

I don't often dole out advice, Amy, but it seems like you need to either find some non-foodie friends or start talking up some new cause. If it goes well, the rest of us should be buzzing about it in 2013. Until then, I will continue to celebrate the foods of my state with my friends and family. Don't worry, I'll make sure not to invite you to the dinner party.

Learning to See with Cranberry Eyes

by Liz

Recently, my husband James and I went on one of my favorite autumn expeditions: cranberry picking.  At the back of our property there is a cranberry bog below the high-tension lines, and it's accessible by a neighbor's driveway.  Our neighbor, Marnie, had told us about the bog after we had been living here a couple of years (perhaps she was waiting to see what kind of people we were before she divulged her secret), and in it grows wild cranberries -- they taste just like Ocean Spray, only better: fresher, earthier, and definitely tangier.

It was a dry summer this year, which translated into a lean harvest for the berries, and at first I thought the bog was picked clean. Although, once I put on my "cranberry eyes" and narrowed my focus, I started to see them: dark red berries, often hanging in clusters of two.  Passing over the soft ones that had already suffered from a freeze, we eventually filled our picking baskets with close to two pounds of fruit.  Some will become cranberry sauce, some infused with vodka for a cordial, some are already baked into scones, and the rest are in the freezer for our winter enjoyment.

One Local Summer 2007

by Liz

Looking for an easy way to introduce local eating into your lifestyle?  Join us at One Local Summer, where as a group, we are preparing one entirely local dinner (or as close as we can get) each week of the summer. It's a great way to explore the bounty of what your state has to offer, and start learning when certain things come into season.

There's really no better time to start eating local produce than in the summer when vegetables are at their peak in freshness and flavor, and farmers markets are in full swing.

Simply in Season, a book review

by Liz

Once upon a time, many people in the US grew at least some portion of their own food.  They ate what was grown nearby, according to the seasons of the year.  Staples like flour, sugar, dry goods and spices were always readily available, but the fresh produce of the moment was determined by the season of the year.  It would have been unheard of to have access to asparagus in February; asparagus is a spring food, meant to be eaten in large quantities when the tender shoots emerged from the patch in your backyard.  Not to mention, the backyard asparagus is basically free compared to that $6 asparagus from the organic market.

Since the advent of the industrial revolution, we have been straying from our agricultural heritage, and have turned to much more energy-intensive methods of food production.  Instead of small, diverse farms peppering the landscape, the majority of our food today is grown on mega-farms not limited to corn and soy.  Monocultures of tomatoes, spinach and carrots stretch as far as the eye can see in certain parts of California, dependent on large machinery, petrochemical-based fertilizers and pesticides, farm subsidies, cheap migrant labor and cross-country refrigerated trucking.  Is this the kind of food system to be proud of?

Chase's Daily

by Liz

When you have a garden, it's so easy to get spoiled by all the top quality produce that you grow.  Dining out can often be disappointing because its clear many restaurants don't feel the way about fresh vegetables as you do. Chase's Daily is the exception, and the place in Belfast, Maine to head for local food on the menu.  The Chase family owns and operates a 500-acre farm in nearby Freedom, and grows a large portion of the produce they serve in this breakfast and lunch spot.  Dinners are only served on Fridays, and are top notch, as is the in-house bakery.

June is still on the cusp of the growing season in Maine, and our fresh produce choices at this time of year mostly include greens of all kinds, a "complaint" of many ELC-ers in May.  After months of living off the root cellar, jars of canned goods and the freezer, we've been delighted to see the tender greens of early summer, although after a while, we're left craving more substantial veggies.  Unfortunately for us, even peas are still a couple of weeks away!

Incredible Edibles

by Liz

No matter where in the country you live, local eggs are in abundance in May.  As a natural part of their cycle of fertility, chickens raised in small flocks without supplemental light will lay more eggs in the spring than in the dark of winter, making eggs a truly seasonal food.

Eggs are a relatively inexpensive item -- around here, local, organic ones go for about $3 a dozen, duck eggs slightly more.  I've heard of people in other states that will gladly pay $6 a dozen for high quality local eggs, the argument being that even at 50¢ per egg, it still makes for an economical meal.  I truly believe that the egg is one of nature's perfect foods, which is why my springtime meal planning revolves heavily around eggs in its various forms, one of which is the frittata.

Eating From the Pantry

by Liz

Here in northern New England, it's imperative to be prepared if you are at all committed to eating seasonally.  "Being prepared" means stocking the pantry with excess produce while it's in season -- either by freezing, canning, dehydrating or root cellaring.  Whether the produce is from your own garden or from a local farmer, it makes both economical and common sense  While I am just now starting to crave fresh green vegetables, I'm still doing most of my eating out of the pantry, and am thankful for it.

I have a vegetable garden because it's a great way to spend time outdoors, stay fit and clear my head.  Mostly, though, I garden because I love to eat high quality food, and I can easily grow $1000 worth of organic produce in a growing season.  Keeping a large garden also means that I must practice and hone my skills when it comes to putting this bounty up.