It may be time for "The 100 Mile Diet".

[trof]

Credit to Javaman for bringing it up in a thread a day or two ago.

The 100 mile 'diet' means trying to live only on food produced within 100 miles of your location.
You accomplish 3 things:
1. Support local growers, ranchers, etc.
2. Save fuel needed to transport food over long distances, and
3. By doing that, cut pollution.

But how can I find out what's near me?
Glad you asked.
Go to Local Harvest and plug in your zip code.
http://www.localharvest.org/csadrops.jsp?id=9495
You may be surprised.

on edit: And MANY THANKS to AZDemDist6 for the Local Harvest link.

[Bonobo]

1. I've really been thinking about this. We will need these local food networks...

K&R

[gateley]

27. I heard an "expert" say that

these are the future. Kind of coming full circle. I love the idea.

[truedelphi]

2. My main reason for avoiding Whole Foods was realizing how much of the stuff

Came from other continents!!

And often it wasn't really organic anyway. I have yet to see organic corn in WF for example.

Farmer Markets are about to open after the winter. THat's the sort of thing I believe in.

[kestrel91316]

3. Instead of coffee imported from halfway around the world,

those with the space and sun should try growing their own herb teas. Rosemary and thyme both make nice teas, and lemon balm is THE BEST! Of course mint, too.

[taterguy]

4. I love coffee but I hate tea

Maybe your suggestion will work for some folks but not me

[XemaSab]

5. I think it's about moderation

Okay, coffee, chocolate, bananas, coconuts... none of those grow well in California, so getting them from other places is a must.

But oranges? Why should we get oranges shipped from South America when they grow perfectly well in most of the state? :shrug:

[Gormy Cuss]

8. In much of CA people could grow tea plants (camellia sinensis.)

I've thought about putting in a bush or two here as an experiment.

[kestrel91316]

30. Too ghastly hot and searingly dry here..........

[Gormy Cuss]

33. Inland valley I presume.

It would require a lot of irrigation and possible some afternoon shade. It's native to Southern Asia and doesn't mind the heat. I live inland in the SF area and I'd probably plant it in the shade of an oak tree AND near a water source. I was surprised to see the tea plant offered in the Territorial Seeds catalog but they claim it's hardy to USDA zone 7. Coffee plants on the other hand are much more tender (Zone 10.)

[kestrel91316]

37. San Fernando Valley. West end. Hell on earth, with extremely alkaline soil.

[pitohui]

10. herb tea does not contain caffeine

it is not an adequate substitute for coffee

for the record, rosemary and thyme, while noble cooking spices, make shitty teas, and lemon balm is ok in flavor but, let's be honest, something you sip before bed to go to sleep

none of these are in any a substitute for coffee

when we make suggestions, let's take care to make them useful suggestions rather than suggestions that just make people feel dicked with

[kestrel91316]

31. It was intended as a useful suggestion. But you just go right ahead

and be nasty AGAIN to an old-timer.

What I think of your snottyness would get me banned if I said it. F------b-----.

[XemaSab]

6. K&R

In addition to eating locally, eating seasonally is a blessing too.

[HereSince1628]

7. Citrus, bananas, vanilla, and chocolate banned from Wisconsin...

What? The ice cream center of the universe with none of its favorite flavorings or toppings.
6 months out of the year we get to eat crappy canned food.

Most of our Chicken comes from Indiana and Arkansas. Most of our beef from somewhere near the Rocky-Mountains. Fish from the GL's isn't safe for children or women who might give birth. Sure, I'll admit most of the Guinea Pig and Rabbit is local.

Good luck getting a lot of people to adopt that diet in Wisconsin.


BTW, One of the things that is GOOD about fresh food from outside a region is that the mineral content of soils varies, and there is no guarantee that your soils have what you need.

[trof]

11. But...but...you've got all that CHEESE!

;-)

[HereSince1628]

12. Ah, I get yer drift, mustard topping on Colby flavored ice-cream

I'm sure that will be a trend setter.

[trof]

17. Y'all got hogs? Cheese-bacon ice cream.

[HereSince1628]

18. hahah. now that's ain't Kosher. I suppose we could eat vegemite

there's got to be tons of dead yeast left behind in the bear making.

If you make a 100 mile driving radius around Milwaukee, too much of it is lake Michigan and the Chicago Metro. Lot's of people are grown in that 100 miles. Maybe we should be thinking Soylent.

[dysfunctional press]

21. but...but...breyer's ice cream is from green bay...

they HAVE to get vanilla beans, sugar, and cocoa...or i'll have no reason to keep on living.
well- not after dec 21, 2012, anyway. i've already promised myself that i'll make it that far, just to see if it lives up to the hype, and if maybe those mayans really knew something...:shrug:

but i wouldn't be happy if i had to go without breyer's while i wait.

and yes, i live more than 100 miles from green bay, too.

[HereSince1628]

23. Green Bay is about 120 miles from Milwaukee...it can't be in my 100 mile diet

It's looking like it's Mack's Frozen Custard for me.

[wellstone dem]

9. I'm using the farmer's market and my dehydrater to extend the impact.

Might also try doing some freezing of produce.

[trof]

13. And I think old fashioned canning will make a comeback.

Miz t. used to.
Making plans to ramp up again.

[pitohui]

19. if you think so you haven't priced canning supplies lately

much more cost effective to simply freeze -- and it preserves more of the vitamins too

[trof]

35. Freezer requires electricity.

Pantry uses no power.
:-)

[trof]

14. Through Local harvest we found a great co-op 30 miles from us.

All organic.
Established over 30 years ago.
We joined. $5 for us seniors for a family membership.
They have a PEANUT BUTTER MACHINE!!!
Grab a nearby 1 pt. container, hold it under the spigot, turn switch on and fresh ground peanut butter.
Damn, It's GOOD.
I'm ruined for Jif now.
:-)

[Earth_First]

25. Right on! We just found a newly-formed CSA that is THREE miles from our house.

We've been using a CSA in the recent past that is nearly fourty miles away, with the pickup point nearly half of that up in the city.

PEDAL power to the rescue this summer!

Hopefull there are still shares available. It's a newly formed CSA, so apparently there are only 15 shares available. We'll call in the morning and hope that we are able to hop on board!

A PEANUT BUTTER machine! I'm jealous!

[Blue_In_AK]

15. It's really easy to eat locally up here in the summer,

but a little trickier during the winter. We still have quite a bit of salmon in the freezer, but the veggies have been long gone. I'm going to try to grow enough to maybe freeze some things this year.

[flamin lib]

16. That all sounds great, but when ground beef (15% fat) is $9.00 a pound

and all the vegies are similarly priced how can a middle income family afford this stuff?

I grew up on a farm, so I don't begrudge the high cost/low volume local farms but how can someone like me afford to pay 2-3 times the megamart price?

[pitohui]

20. yeah i can't afford it either

the farmer's markets in my area appear to be money laundries and a cover for organized crime to compare their prices to what's in the grocery stores!

[dysfunctional press]

22. not for me, thanks. if i lived in the tropics i might be more ameniable to the idea...

but here in the midwest, things like bananas, mangoes, oranges, sugar, chocolate, ocean fish, pineapples and many more wouldn't be on the menu- so count me out. big time.

but i do get a lot of my vegetables from our garden. and i do get some of my meat from local farmers/suppliers.

[El Pinko]

36. Exactly. A variety of produce is best for good health. I get what I can locally...

...but I'm on a tight budget, so if it's a lot cheaper, I get stuff that's trucked in.

If I stuck to locally grown, pretty much all I'd get would be chili peppers and pecans.

[InvisibleTouch]

24. Looks like there's a farmer's market right in my town...

...if they're still operational. Entry hasn't been updated in a while. I'll certainly check it out, though. Thanks for the link!

[gateley]

26. K&R - This is great!! nt

[Yael]

28. Y'all come on up to South East/Central PA

We have more farmer's markets and Amish stores than you can imagine.

Stock up on the stuff you can't find local. Best apple butter this side of Eden.

:hi:

[lonestarnot]

29. Thanks for the link!

I've been wondering where that little homegrown joint is on sats. now I know. Thanks! :toast:

[NMDemDist2]

32. how could I not K&N this one??

thanks trof

:hi:

[kwyjibo]

34. I just found the most amazing site through your link! HEY AUSTINITES! Read this!

This service, Greenling, will deliver organic groceries to your door once a week!

http://www.greenling.com/

One of the most appealing things they offer is a $35 box of vegetables that are organic, locally grown, and in season. I am so excited about this and want to try it. Does anyone here get groceries from Greenling?