Cooking
Not long ago I was in North Carolina visiting a beautiful garden at the Biltmore estate. I asked the gardener if it was organic and he got very agitated. "Let me get on my soap box" he said. He then proceeded to explain that most pesticides in the US were organic and that just because something is organic doesn't mean it is free of pesticides and that some organic pesticides are not very effective. He said that sometimes he would have to use an organic pesticide 6 or 7 times instead of using a non-organic pesticide once. The gardener then told me about an integrated insect approach that he used, attracting beneficial insects to do the work to help keep his garden as healthy as possible. But when he must resort to pesticides he chooses whatever he thinks is best, organic or not. Is organic always best? Clearly, it's not that simple.
Because a few years back I was critical of a campaign to "eat only local food", I left some people under the impression that I disagree with the principles of eating local. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, some of the reasons I felt it wasn't sustainable then are now changing. Here are the main reasons why I like "eating local" and why I have subscribed to a local CSA for over 5 years.
* Local food is likely to be fresher and fresher food generally tastes better and is healthier
* Buying local helps support local farmers and producers
But as with eating organic, it's not that simple. Here are the reasons I doubt I will ever limit myself to eating ONLY local food.
* Many products I love (such as mangoes!) can't be grown in my region
* The quality of local products is not always acceptable to me
* Some local products are just too expensive for my budget
* There are too many non-local ingredients that increase the diversity in my diet such as spices, imported cheeses, grains, wines, etc.
* Buying local doesn't necessarily mean saving resources--a recent story in the Boston Globe called The Localvore's Dilemma explored the issue of energy costs associated with local produce and found sometimes more energy is used than when food is imported.
A few weeks ago I did a taste test with Sonoma lamb versus New Zealand lamb and not only was the New Zealand lamb cheaper, but it tasted better to me. As far as I'm concerned, taste trumps everything. I hope one day the local lamb will be tastier not to mention cheaper than the imported lamb. But until then, I'm sticking with whatever tastes best to me and fits my budget. Diversity in my diet is too important to me to forgo eating foods that aren't produced locally. But will I seek out local fruits, vegetables, meat? Yes. I will and I do!
FOOD
- In Organic We Trust
In Organic We Trust trailer What do terms like “organic” and “natural” mean? Are they marketing terms or something more? The documentary “In Organic We Trust,” begins by taking a deeper dive into what the public thinks organic is all about...
- Business Of Food: Organics Gone Mainstream
At the first morning session at the IACP conference in Chicago there was a panel discussion on the topic of organics. The speakers were an interesting mix--there was Samuel Fromartz who wrote the book Organics, Inc. Michael Abelman, the founder of the...
- Is Organic As Good As It Gets?
An interesting thing happened when I wrote about Safeway introducing a line of organic products. Not everybody who read the announcement thought it was a good thing. Now Wal-Mart has made plans to introduce a line of organic products, with the goal of...
- Eating Only Local?
There has been a lot of hullaballoo about eating local as of late. It's a topic that has been written about in Gourmet magazine, in the San Francisco Chronicle, in blog after blog and countless other places I'm sure. There is even a group called...
- Fields That Dream At Cody's Tonight
Sorry for the short notice, but if you've got the time, come to the Telegraph Cody's tonight to hear Jenny Kurzweil speak about her new book Fields That Dream. If you're local but can't come tonight, make sure to get to the Telegraph Cody's...
Cooking
Eating Local, Buying Local
Not long ago I was in North Carolina visiting a beautiful garden at the Biltmore estate. I asked the gardener if it was organic and he got very agitated. "Let me get on my soap box" he said. He then proceeded to explain that most pesticides in the US were organic and that just because something is organic doesn't mean it is free of pesticides and that some organic pesticides are not very effective. He said that sometimes he would have to use an organic pesticide 6 or 7 times instead of using a non-organic pesticide once. The gardener then told me about an integrated insect approach that he used, attracting beneficial insects to do the work to help keep his garden as healthy as possible. But when he must resort to pesticides he chooses whatever he thinks is best, organic or not. Is organic always best? Clearly, it's not that simple.
Because a few years back I was critical of a campaign to "eat only local food", I left some people under the impression that I disagree with the principles of eating local. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, some of the reasons I felt it wasn't sustainable then are now changing. Here are the main reasons why I like "eating local" and why I have subscribed to a local CSA for over 5 years.
* Local food is likely to be fresher and fresher food generally tastes better and is healthier
* Buying local helps support local farmers and producers
But as with eating organic, it's not that simple. Here are the reasons I doubt I will ever limit myself to eating ONLY local food.
* Many products I love (such as mangoes!) can't be grown in my region
* The quality of local products is not always acceptable to me
* Some local products are just too expensive for my budget
* There are too many non-local ingredients that increase the diversity in my diet such as spices, imported cheeses, grains, wines, etc.
* Buying local doesn't necessarily mean saving resources--a recent story in the Boston Globe called The Localvore's Dilemma explored the issue of energy costs associated with local produce and found sometimes more energy is used than when food is imported.
A few weeks ago I did a taste test with Sonoma lamb versus New Zealand lamb and not only was the New Zealand lamb cheaper, but it tasted better to me. As far as I'm concerned, taste trumps everything. I hope one day the local lamb will be tastier not to mention cheaper than the imported lamb. But until then, I'm sticking with whatever tastes best to me and fits my budget. Diversity in my diet is too important to me to forgo eating foods that aren't produced locally. But will I seek out local fruits, vegetables, meat? Yes. I will and I do!
FOOD
- In Organic We Trust
In Organic We Trust trailer What do terms like “organic” and “natural” mean? Are they marketing terms or something more? The documentary “In Organic We Trust,” begins by taking a deeper dive into what the public thinks organic is all about...
- Business Of Food: Organics Gone Mainstream
At the first morning session at the IACP conference in Chicago there was a panel discussion on the topic of organics. The speakers were an interesting mix--there was Samuel Fromartz who wrote the book Organics, Inc. Michael Abelman, the founder of the...
- Is Organic As Good As It Gets?
An interesting thing happened when I wrote about Safeway introducing a line of organic products. Not everybody who read the announcement thought it was a good thing. Now Wal-Mart has made plans to introduce a line of organic products, with the goal of...
- Eating Only Local?
There has been a lot of hullaballoo about eating local as of late. It's a topic that has been written about in Gourmet magazine, in the San Francisco Chronicle, in blog after blog and countless other places I'm sure. There is even a group called...
- Fields That Dream At Cody's Tonight
Sorry for the short notice, but if you've got the time, come to the Telegraph Cody's tonight to hear Jenny Kurzweil speak about her new book Fields That Dream. If you're local but can't come tonight, make sure to get to the Telegraph Cody's...