Life Begins at 30

Hurricane Katrina - How we can help

I have been stunned watching coverage of our devastated South, and this morning switched from feeling hopeless about the situation to trying to figure out how I can help victims of Hurricane Katrina.  Here's what I have come up with: 

• Donate.  Network for Good has a wonderful resource page comprised of charities that are mobilized to help hurricane efforts.  It has explanations of the charities, advice for how to give during a disaster, and links for other ways you can help.  Personally, I will be donating to Second Harvest to support their efforts to bring food to hurricane victims.

• Volunteer.  The Red Cross is sending volunteers to the South.  "Volunteers won't have to slog through waist-high water or fend off water moccasins ... but they will have to cope with human psychology.  'It's mostly dealing with people's issues as they settle in,' Smith said. 'And when you have hundreds of people under the same roof, you're going to have issues.'  The organization is also dispensing with its minimum three-week commitment and asking for only a week if that's all someone can spare."

• Read.  There are many ways that the online community is helping with communication efforts, trying to find people, and generally supporting hurricane victims.  I can't help but think that by supporting these communities and reading through postings, we may each find a way to help.

Craigslist New Orleans
Craigslist Jackson
Hurricane Katrina Help Wiki

10 Reasons to Eat Local Food

Eating local means more for the local economy.  According to a study by the New Economics Foundation in London, a dollar spent locally generates twice as much income for the local economy.  When businesses are not owned locally, money leaves the community at every transaction.  (reference)

Locally grown produce is fresher.  While produce that is purchased in the supermarket or a big-box store has been in transit or cold-stored for days or weeks, produce that you purchase at your local farmer's market has often been picked within 24 hours of your purchase.  This freshness not only affects the taste of your food, but the nutritional value which declines with time.

Local food just plain tastes better.  Ever tried a tomato that was picked within 24 hours?  'Nuff said.

Locally grown fruits and vegetables have longer to ripen.  Because the produce will be handled less, locally grown fruit does not have to be "rugged" or to stand up to the rigors of shipping.  This means that you are going to be getting peaches so ripe that they fall apart as you eat them, figs that would have been smashed to bits if they were sold using traditional methods, and melons that were allowed to ripen until the last possible minute on the vine.

Eating local is better for air quality and pollution than eating organic.  In a March 2005 study by the journal Food Policy, it was found that the miles that organic food often travels to our plate creates environmental damage that outweighs the benefit of buying organic. (reference)

Buying local food keeps us in touch with the seasons.  By eating with the seasons, we are eating foods when they are at their peak taste, are the most abundant, and the least expensive.

Buying locally grown food is fodder for a wonderful story.  Whether it's the farmer who brings local apples to market or the baker who makes local bread, knowing part of the story about your food is such a powerful part of enjoying a meal. 

Eating local protects us from bio-terrorism.  Food with less distance to travel from farm to plate has less susceptibility to harmful contamination. (reference)

Local food translates to more variety.  When a farmer is producing food that will not travel a long distance, will have a shorter shelf life, and does not have a high-yield demand, the farmer is free to try small crops of various fruits and vegetables that would probably never make it to a large supermarket.  Supermarkets are interested in selling "Name brand" fruit: Romaine Lettuce, Red Delicious Apples, Russet Potatoes.  Local producers often play with their crops from year to year, trying out Little Gem Lettuce, Senshu Apples, and Chieftain Potatoes.

Supporting local providers supports responsible land development.  When you buy local, you give those with local open space - farms and pastures - an economic reason to stay open and undeveloped.

Download a printable version (pdf) of this guide.

Coming into the home stretch

I can't believe it's already almost the end of August.  Seems like the Eat Local Challenge has flown by so quickly!  If anyone who is taking the challenge would consider a wrap-up post, I will post a summary of how everyone did and general sentiment about the challenge.  Ideally, I will do the post over the Labor Day weekend, so let me know if you post by then.

Things you may want to talk about:

* How did the challenge go for you?
* What was easier than expected?
* What was harder than expected?
* What did you deny yourself during August that you are dying to have on September 1?
* What are the fun new products you discovered during this challenge?
* Do you think the challenge has changed your overall eating habits? 
* Will you be carrying any part of the challenge into your daily lives?
* Will you take the challenge again next August?

Thanks!

Pawpaw - A Local Tropical Fruit

Have you ever seen a pawpaw?  I picked up this little fruit from Lagier Ranch at the Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market on Tuesday.  The fruit fits in the palm of my hand and is quite soft when it is ready to eat.  It is known as the "poor man's banana" and can substituted for banana in recipes.

If you are serious about eating local, this fruit is a good one to know about as it satisfies the need for a tropical fruit, yet it can be found in California.

The fruit is custardy in texture and reminds me of a cross between a mild papaya, a banana and a mango.

A pawpaw is in the same family as a cherimoya fruit, and is native to woodlands in the native US.  It is now grown in parts of California and the Pacific Northwest.

Cutting into the pawpaw, it's seeds are quite large with a beautiful woody exterior. 

If you make it to a market in the Bay Area this weekend, keep an eye out for Lagier Ranch and their pawpaws.  Lagier is at the Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market on Saturdays and the Marin Civic Center Farmer's Market on Sundays.

More about the Pawpaw fruit:

Wikipedia
California Rare Fruit Growers, Inc

Photo credit: Flourphoto

Breathing Easy while Eating Local

Several Eat Local Challenge bloggers have mentioned that they wonder whether they are doing anything for the environment and pollution in buying local foods when it usually means driving more in order to go to many different locations to gather their food.  To help us with this question, I have called on a good friend, Jennifer Finton.  Jen is the Policy Manager of the American Lung Association of Sacramento-Emigrant Trails, and spends much of her time on pollution, transportation, and land use issues.

In general, can you talk about the types of pollution trucks bring into an area, and what that does for the environment?

Most of the trucks used for transporting goods in a region have diesel engines.  Diesel engines being made today are much cleaner than older versions, however, diesel engines are workhorses and last an average of 30 years.  Since 1990, diesel exhaust has been listed as a known carcinogen under California's Proposition 65, and in 1998, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) formally listed diesel particulate as a toxic air contaminant. The extensive scientific literature demonstrates that exposure to diesel exhaust increases the risk of developing lung cancer and other non-cancer health problems.

Are those types of pollutants something that average cars don't give off?

Yes and no.  The "average" car is much cleaner than an "average" diesel engine on the road today.  However, cars and trucks both emit pollutants in varying degrees that can be harmful to lungs, both in the short and the long term.  While newer cars are polluting less overall, recent data shows that they are traveling more miles than ever before.

Can you talk about "goods movement" - what it means, and how it affects our lives?

With globalization and a market driven economy, efficiency and low prices are the name of the game.  Notice all of the "box stores" in our communities.  With an increase in the number of these stores, demand for these discount goods increases, therefore increasing the number of trucks, trains and ships needed to transport them, especially from overseas.  More transportation modes often equate to more pollution.  You'll need more trucks to get the containers from more trains, that are loaded from more ships.  Studies show that trains, trucks and ships are some of the highest polluting mobile sources.  An increase in these modes without cleaner engines does not bode well for lung health. 

So is it a natural conclusion to assume that buying more things that don't have to be brought on ship, train or truck would eventually help air quality by cutting down on the number of ships / trains / trucks?  Or at least not increasing that demand?

Right. theoretically, until we can come up with readily available, inexpensive cleaner technology for the engines in those ships/trains/trucks.

So, let's just say that in a perfect world, the Eat Local Challenge completely takes off and half the population is doing it ... buying more goods locally.  A lot of times, that would mean trips to more places (as opposed to one big box market) and breaking up our errands to lots of little places.  What could that mean for congestion and pollution?

Well, if half the population is doing it, there would probably be a better method for obtaining local goods.  But, in light of how to go about it at this point in time -- Recognize that you're eating local for other reasons than to save money and time (for the most part).  You are choosing this "battle", but to look at the whole picture, the trade-offs become complicated.

What's the #1 thing that we can take into consideration while eating local?

For this month of eating local, combining your errands, whether they are food-buying related or not, is the best strategy if you are shopping by car.  Well-maintained cars are equipped to run cleaner after the engine is warm.  Your car pollutes more in the first few minutes of driving.  By combining errands, even if that means starting and stopping your engine for brief periods of time, is better for air pollution than running errands sporadically throughout the day.  Of course, walking, biking, carpooling and taking transit may cut down on the cost, provide a health benefit by combining exercise and pollute the least of all modes.

Talking to you, one thing that I would personally probably focus on would be to frequent farmer's markets that are purposefully put at transportation hubs -- just supporting that effort, I guess.

Right, a perfect combination.  There's some cross promotion going on here in Sacramento between our transit and the Farmer's Markets.

Anything else we should talk about?

Well, one thing is to keep an eye out for companies that are upgrading their diesel engines. There are some great programs out there to upgrade or replace diesel engines a little cost to the operator.

And to close, it's obvious the Locavores and anyone participating in this challenge care about what they eat and where it comes from and I appreciate that they recognize that this stuff doesn't happen in a vacuum.  It's about choices and we can continue making sure we have choices by becoming active and involved in our communities and supporting those businesses that are sustainable.  It's the whole, "vote with your fork" mentality, but carried throughout your life.

Thanks so much, Jen.  This has been really helpful.

ELC Blog Highlight: Eating New Jersey

Eating New Jersey is one of a couple of blogs I know that started up just for this blog challenge.  He started his blog in July, saying:

We are in New Jersey, the often maligned Garden State and are partially taking the challenge to prove (mostly to New Jerseyans) that the availability and diversity of foods from here can match those found anywhere else.

"Bornearly" has risen to the challenge, finding local eggs and wine, local beer, and last week he posted about a local turkey farm.  I'm hoping that his blog habit is here to stay - Eating New Jersey is a great addition to our blog community.

Eatwell Farms / Three Wise Hens Eggs

A note on choosing eggs: Wherever they appear in your meal, spare no pennies to get the freshest, tastiest eggs you can.  I want yolks the color of saffron that sit plump and high on the clear, thick, jellylike whites.  If the white is thin overall and watery at the edge, the egg may be too feeble to turn into a fluffy omelette or frittata.  Eggshell color is about hen variety and is no guarantee of great flavor, but the best eggs we get are from well-tended and well-fed hens that produce brown or blue eggs.  Try all the different colors and "brands" of eggs you can find, then choose the one that delivers flavor and freshness.  Even the most expensive egg makes a very economical meal.

Judy Rodgers, The Zuni Cafe Cookbook

One thing that I haven't missed during the Eat Local Challenge is eggs - we have plenty of options here in the Bay Area for local eggs: Marin Sun Farms, Petaluma Farms Eggs, Nash's Eggs, Ludwig Avenue Farm to name a few.  Now, there is a newcomer to the egg scene: Eatwell Farm, which is a familiar certified-organic vendor at several Bay Area farmers markets, is now selling eggs under the brand of "Three Wise Hens".  I initially heard that these eggs would only be available to CSA members, but they were available at the Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market on Saturday and the farmer, Nigel, expects them to be available on a regular basis from this point forward.

I didn't do a side-by-side comparison, but I found them to be just delicious.  We taste-tested them by poaching and setting atop a portabella mushroom (Solano Mushroom Farm), roasted tomato (New Zealand Pink Paste from Eatwell - my current favorite tomato), Capricious cheese and basil (Eatwell).  I modified this recipe by using less oil and the ingredients aforementioned. 

At $6/dozen, prices rival Marin Sun Farms as the highest in town.

Who's up for a Bay Area Egg Taste Test?

Photo by flourphoto.

ELC Blog Highlight: Tigers & Strawberries

I can't remember if I found Barbara's site, Tigers & Strawberries, as a result of the Eat Local Challenge or if it was right before that.  Her site has quickly become part of my daily read.  The depth of her site is remarkable - both in her well-thought out essays, and in the comments that she elicits. 

Among other things, Barbara

>   features step-by-step recipes that are completely readable,

>  she found locally produced tofu -- a challenge in Ohio and the rest of the US, as soy is often not processed in the same place as it is harvested,

>  reviews reference materials for the eat local challenge (here and here),

>  she provides a great list of Ohio local food resources,

>  and Barbara wrote an excellent essay on the meaning of "sustainable".

Barbara, I am so glad to have you as a part of this challenge!

ELC Blog Highlight: The Latecomers

We had a few bloggers who were fashionably late to the party.  I have added their names to the list, but wanted to highlight them so you'd have a chance to check out their blogs if you haven't already.

Alanna from Kitchen Parade: Veggie Venture (St. Louis, Missouri). Incorporating eating local into her blog goal of writing new about new veggie recipes every day.

Vital Information from (Chicago, IL). Has a list of local resources on his site and thinks that the eat local challenge is a natural fit for him.

Parke from US Food Policy (Massachusetts). There is something appealing about a dirty crooked carrot in a world full of obedient clean conical supercarrots.

Brett from In Praise of Sardines (Bay Area).  So, although I'm arriving at the Eat Local party when it's half over, I want to offer my support and congratulations to all those who have been participating for the whole month!  Go team!

first annual food bloggers picnic

this is the reason that i feel ten pounds heavier today than yesterday.  read the glowing reports and see the pictures (the meat!  the andouille!)  here:

sam
fatemeh
biggles
charlotte
bunrab

it was so lovely to meet you all.  really wonderful.