Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Change the world Wednesdays… Become a locavore for a day!


So, in the spirit of continuing our blog sharing for Reduce Footprints “Change de World Wednesday” challenges, I’m reposting this week's challenge :


“For one full day this week, eat only local foods. No tropical fruits from across the world ... no veggies that traveled hundreds of miles to get to your table ... only locally grown foods (this includes meats, dairy products, etc., if you eat them).

OR, if you're already eating only local foods full time ... and may I say congratulations to that ... post one of your favorite "local food" recipes on your blog.”

What does this mean?

It means take a few days, look around, and think of seasonal foods you love and find them at your local farmer’s markets and local grocery stores that feature local foods. This may take you out of your comfort zone, but what is a challenge without a bit of challenge?

What does this do?

For a day, for every food you buy and eat that didn’t have to travel thousands of miles to get to your plate, you get to reduce your carbon footprint by tons of CO2 that is released into our air and atmosphere. Plus, you encourage local farmers and business!

Here are things that you can usually easily find during the growing season (from a North American point of view – I would love my readers to share their own list) :

  • Eggs, meats, fish and dairy (if you eat them) : Smaller farm, locally raised meats and dairy cows are treated better, are often grass fed and have less residual pesticides, hormones and antibiotics in them. Now, I’m not saying all farms that are local are organic! But you can more easily control the amount of these toxins you allow into your body by simply being able to ask the farmer that will usually be standing there when you buy their products. You could also find a local pond or lake if you like to fish.
  • Produce : Unless you are a reader on the other side of the world from me right now, with July coming up, you are in the midst of the best local fruits and vegetable you could ever dream of!
  • Sweeteners : If you are like me, a bit too northbound for sugar cane plantations, sugar is not 100 miles. Honey is always available from local vendors. If you are lucky like me and live in maple country, local maple syrup and sugar is another great sweetener.
  • Grains : Many regions on North America and Europe are very important grain producers and for every big industrial mill, there is a small, artisanal mill that prides itself in making good quality flours from local grains.
  • Potatoes : Well… this one was pretty easy, but you get my point. LOL!

Think of this as an adventure. Take the pledge, get out there, walk around, talk to a few people and create something new. Then share your ideas and recipes with us!

Are you in for the challenge?

7 comments:

Unknown said...

Oh yeah ... I'm up for it! You know ... when you first suggested this challenge, I thought ... no problem. I love farmer's markets and, especially at this time of year, do all my shopping there. But then, my husband and I really started thinking about what goes into a meal ... spices, olive oil, condiments, coffee ... and those things are definitely not local. So, this challenge is going to really raise awareness and ... for us ... will help us discover new cooking techniques and flavorings. I'm betting that will make it healthier as well.

This challenge gives me a whole new appreciation for what pioneer women must have dealt with.

Thanks for the challenge!

Small Footprints
http://reducefootprints.blogspot.com

Yanic said...

You are welcome... I hope people don't get too ruffled by it. I think it's a great oppportunity for a day of thinking outside the food box! Litterally. LOL!

Today, I made my first 100-mile soft baked maple cookies... without baking soda or baking powder. Yep! A sense of adventure is definitely a must!

Good luck!

What A Card said...

Thanks for the challenge suggestion this week...I'm joining in for the fun! As I said on Small Footprint's blog, I eat largely locally during the summer, but have lazed around on the last 25% or so of things that aren't easy to replace (I'm in Massachusetts, so I'm guessing we have fairly similar issues of what's easy and hard to find!)

Great idea, I'm looking forward to taking the plunge for a 100% local day!

Sinclair said...

This was good, and depending on how exact we get with 'local', VERY challenging! I enjoyed your post.

rbagain said...

...GRT! idea !!
change the world wednesday!!
that needs a hash tag, for tweets
maybe... #CTWW or #chngworld
well...
great idea anyway!!
peace-

Anonymous said...

Creative post :)


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lina yuliana said...

Great post ! and now we have eco batteries