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The Low-Carbon Diet
In her book , Animal, Vegetable, Miracle - A year of Food Life, Barbara Kingsolver writes about the importance of eating locally grown foods. She shares her family's experience of living off the land. As much as we'd love to, not all of us can grow and produce our own food, but most of us have a choice over where we shop for food. Buying locally grown foods not only supports our local communities and farmers but it also reduces our carbon footprint. Kingsolver states that, "Americans put almost as much fossil fuel into their fridges as they do their cars. Most of that oil is used during the trip from the farm to your plate. In fact, each food item in a typical US meal has traveled an average of 1,500 miles! If every US citizen ate just one meal a week (any meal) composed of locally and organically raised foods, we would reduce our country's oil consumption by over 1.1 million barrels of oil every week. Small changes in buying habits can make big differences." The book points out that the choices we make at the supermarket have far reaching effects on our bodies as well as the environment.
Although coconuts are one of my favorite foods, I do my best to buy as much food as possible that is grown/produced locally and encourage everyone else to give it a try. Of course, most likely you will need to make some exceptions, but the idea is to bring the focus more local. We are very fortunate to live an area with year-round farmers markets. Shopping at farmers markets gives you an opportunity to meet farmers who can easily tell you where the produce was grown, how it was grown (organic or conventional) and even how long ago it was picked. But farmers markets are not the only place to shop locally, most grocery stores have made it much easier to be a green shopper. Look for tags or food displays listing the area of origin.
Go to the Natural Resources Defense Council's website to find out what foods are in season in your area, where to find a farmer's market near you and download recipes like this one:
Butternut Squash Flan
(by Scott Pampuch)
- 1 large butternut squash, peeled, medium dice
- 1 shallot, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 cups Heavy cream
- 3 eggs, whipped
- White pepper + salt to taste
- Two sprigs of thyme
1. Put squash, garlic, thyme and shallot into a saucepan, and just barely cover with heavy cream.
2. Poach over medium heat for about 20 minutes or until squash is soft.
3. Transfer all ingredients to a blender and pass everything through a fine mesh strainer.
4. Add eggs and season to taste with salt and white pepper.
5. Fill ramekins with flan mix. Place ramekins into a deeper vessel (like a hotel pan or some other form of high-edged baking dish), pour hot water up to about half-way up the sides of your flans, wrap tightly in foil and cook in a 425 degree oven for about 20-25 minutes.
6. Garnish with mixed greens, lemon vinaigrette, and golden raisins.
Thanks, Connie. I loved that book. It really educated me on the real cost of eating food that is not grown locally.
Oh, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY CONNIE!!!!
Looks like you somehow circumvented the birthday-pic-at-peak-exhaustion. How'd that happen? ;)
Great post, btw. I've been getting a veggie box from the local Riverdog Farm, and it's changed my life for the better. The box is saving me $20 a week on veggies, and I'm "forced" to figure out how to cook new things every week. Recently I received unique variety of Chinese brocoli (gen lai), it was amazingly sweet and a little leathery.
The recipe is much appreciated! I've been meaning to find a veggie-based dessert.
Yes, I think there is some biased picture-posting going on. Mike, I can help you with a selection of eyes-closed/half-there pictures of your sweet little angelita.
Little Connie is one year wiser, but she still lookes like a seventh-grader with those chubby cheeks!
Glad you had a fun birthday!
Happy Birthday, Connie. Remember to keep the heavy metal playing at high volumes at all times. This will ensure another good year.
> I've been meaning to find a veggie-based dessert.
Tad, ice cream is derived from grass. That's a legit veggie dessert if I've ever heard of one.
March Birthdays are the most important birthdays. FACT.
Happy Bday, Connie!
ps - you may be shocked to read this, but I do not agree that buying local substantially lowers your carbon footprint. I think this would be especially true for foods that don't optimally grow in one's location. More resources are needed for the same level of production. Does the book break down the number items/mile? If 10,000 tomatoes travel 1,500 miles is that a worse carbon footprint than a local farmer transporting 100 tomatoes 15 miles?
I am, however, all for quality and there is certainly something to be said for the quality of many locally grown products. So I think buying local can sometimes make sense.
An excellent question.
First, Happy Birthday, Connie!
JP, I agree that quality is a big part of the value of buying local. In order to transport a tomato 1500 miles (or 5000), and get it to market before it's rotten, the tomatoes have to be picked green, and in many cases they have been genetically modified to withstand the journey. As Chopper Reed might have said, "you tomatoes need to harden the f*ck up". It's easy to forget what a tomato should taste like if you go too long without getting one from your own garden. There is at least a chance that a local tomato was grown without petroleum-based fertilizers. I don't know how much of the reduction in oil consumption mentioned in Connie's post was due to travel and how much due to organic practices.
And don't even start on bananas.
The A-Team has returned, my friends. With Liam Neeson and Jessica Biel, no less.
http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi14943257/
Oh boy. Tom, you disappoint. This question is typical libertarian nonsense.
Good luck with a low carbon diet. One of the easiest ways to achieve this is too buy local. Visit local farmers markets and ranches whenever possible. It is really unavoidable though to not leave any carbon foot print, just do what you can to cut it down.
I love it when a plan comes together!!
Very interesting post - makes me wonder, what has less of a carbon footprint:
a) driving to Walnut Creek and buying a shirt at Nordstrom
b) ordering shirt on-line and having UPS drop it off?
If UPS is more efficient - maybe we should order food via UPS?
How does Riverdog Farms deliver?
Maria, ever have a good salad in NYC in the middle of winter? Me neither.
After reading this article - we should never EVER drink imported wines.
http://www.energybulletin.net/node/5045
For a nice domestic champagne, I'd like to recommend Mumm Napa.
This goes for Chilean Sea Bass too.....bummer (and not because they are endangered).
Never go to Las Vegas - every single thing is trucked or flown in.....
Should local farmers receive government subsidies?
What about a special trip (in a car) to the farmers market and then a trip to Safeway to buy the items you can't get at the market. Would it have been better to buy all the produce at Safeway? What about all the Safeway employees? What would happen if we stopped shopping at chain grocery? Cataclysmic!
Do I have a lower carbon footprint because I don't shave every day and I ride a moto?
I think Kate is right.....small steps....
ps - last time in NYC, I ordered a heirloom tomato and mozzarella salad. It looked delicous. It was awful! Tomato was so bland. We are lucky.....
Actually, it is a very good question. If the same amount of fuel is burned per tomato during transport, then things get cloudier about whether locally grown produce has a lower carbon footprint. It has nothing to do with ideology, but it is a question of fuel inputs and produce outputs. Now, I don't know if anyone is just transporting 100 tomatoes at a time, so the example might be somewhat skewed. However, explain to me how JP's question is not relevant or nonsensical.
The other thing to remember when having an argument is that outright dismissing the other side as holding nonsensical views is usually not a productive tactic. Arguments should not be verbal fistfights, but instead a defense of theses based upon facts. I'm certainly not a libertarian, but acknowledging that the other side may have a valid point is a good place to start any discussion. There are exceptions to that, for example Holocaust deniers, Flat Earth Society members, those that think the earth is 6,000 years old, but the questions over energy inputs to food and transport are not nearly so cut and dry.
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