www.eatlocalchallenge.com

Eating Locally Covered in Time Magazine

by Barbara Fisher

You knew it had to happen eventually.

The mainstream news media has caught wind of the issue of eating locally, and the coverage has begun.

This week's (June 12th) edition of Time Magazine has a large special section called "Eating Smart" that includes an article entitled, "The Lure of the 100-Mile Diet," which mentions the Locavores, and the ELC blog.

It is a really good article that puts the ideals of eating locally forth in a concise, entertaining fashion, and includes quotes from Jessica Prentice, Pat McGovern, and myself. The illustration, in fact, is a portrait of me on my deck seated in front of my tomato and herb container garden, holding a platter of locally harvested fruits and vegetables.

Spreading

In this article from CNET on who's greener, Microsoft or Google, there's a gem way down near the end:

Among the [Google} campus's five cafeterias is one opened in March called Cafe 150, which serves only ingredients from farms within 150 miles of the kitchen. The trash volume in the dining room is zero and all the to-go silverware, cups and containers are compostable, said Nate Keller, Cafe 150 executive chef. The ovens are economical, using computers to set temperatures and cooking times. One local supplier delivers goods in a biodiesel-based truck and fills it up with fat from the kitchen's fryer, Keller said.

"If you transport food from Chile, or even Florida, that's a significant distance and greenhouse gases are emitted in the transportation of that food," Van Velsor said.

Yeah, it's spreading.

(And can I just add that it's about durn time mainstream environmentalism made a come-back?)

Sara Zoë is a farm groupie on the seacoast of New Hampshire and blogs between grad school and work about folkfood.
 

The Fabulous Girls' Guide to Eating Local

by Pim of Chez Pim

If you're a regular reader on the food blog circuit, I'm sure you've heard an earful about this month's Eating Local campaign.  I know just what you think, who needs the crunchy granola types telling us how to be fabulous?

No worries, fabulous girls of the world, Chez Pim, the poster child of shallowfabulousness, is coming to the rescue.  No, I'm not going to tell you to eat local to save the environment, support local farmers and artisans, or reduce our dependant on oil.  None of that boring altruistic stuff I tell you. 

Yes, yes, of course, eating locally grown or produced foods will do all of that good stuff, but it's hardly helping us, is it?  No, girls, I'm telling you to do this out of straight, unadulterated self-interest.  Trust me on this.  It's going to be so, well, fabulous.

A Introduction from the Sierra Nevadas

by Birdsong S.

Just a quick post to introduce myself, and help spread the word a bit.  I am Birdsong, I live in northern California, in a benign portion of the Sierra foothills, north of Nevada City, where we are able to garden, but still have to work around late snows and frosts.  I see the Eat Local Challenge as a way to encourage more people to think about how they can support their local economies through their purchases, and not as some sort of competition to be the "purest" (or is it "be a purist?")

I have been trained in permaculture design (incorporating permaculture into my Masters thesis in 2000), but have been employed as a teacher and most currently as an administrative support person for our local medical and dental clinic in Downieville.