The politics of food

For a long time, I appreciated the importance of organic food, but I was still resentful about how much more expensive everything is at my local "co-op" (it really isn't a co-op, they don't even check your card any more). Trader Joe's has a fair amount of organic stuff, often at a fraction of the price. And the laundry detergent - what's up with that? Why is it literally three times the cost for the same product?

But for some reason recently I have accepted the inescapable morality of my food choices, and begun to try to buy not only organic, but local. The United States has 5% of the world's population, but produces 21% of the carbon emissions. A quarter of our emissions come from our agricultural system, including transporting our food, while ironically, global climate change is projected to put an additional 75 to 125 million people at risk of chronic hunger, due to drought and other disruptions to food production systems. (Citations for these factoids available upon request.)

I happen to live in a place where I could more or less eat locally produced vegetables all year. Granted, if I wanted to be a purist about it, I'd be eating onions and cabbage and beets in the winter, but hey, that's pretty much just going back to my ethnic roots. It would be much tougher in the Midwest.

So lately I have been trying to at least reduce the travel distance of my produce, buying things grown in Washington or even Oregon and BC whenever possible. I can't bring myself to give up peppers, bananas or coffee, which will always have high transport costs, and citrus fruit would be a tough one too. It's not just produce, either - our sojourn in Italy gave us a love of Italian cheeses, and I have yet to find the perfect local artisan pecorino. But I'll keep trying.

I've found that this approach has changed the way I shop and cook. I have in fact become more European, stopping by the store every couple of days and picking my meals based on what looks good at the store. Self-help books on reducing your cost of living will tell you this is a terrible way to live - you should plan your menus out a week in advance, so you can know where to shop cheaply and buy just what you need. I've always been overwhelmed by this advice, and I went through a long period of hating the grocery store. But I have been enjoying myself, selecting the best-looking, most local organic produce I can find, and then figuring out what to do with it while it's still fresh. I've developed an absolute love for collard greens and savoy cabbage!