According to the World Watch Institute, food travels on average of 1,500 to 2,500 miles from its source to our tables. This being the case, there is a direct correlation between rising gas and food prices. When you take into account that our food travels more than we do, we could save an enormous amount of fuel if we all purchased locally grown food. This would lessen our dependence on foreign oil and help keep gas prices down.
“Counting our food miles,” an article on www.naturallifemagazine.com/0708/foodmiles.html, states that even locally grown foods can travel do to off-site packaging. The best way to ensure that your food is truly local is to go to farmers’ markets. Money spent on organic, locally grown food, is money spent on nutritious, freshly harvested and delicious food that you know is safe because you can know the conditions of farm and how it was transported. The alternative is spending money on energy costs that work to lower the overall quality and safety of our food.
Posted in
Education at September 2nd, 2008.
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The Chicago Tribune featured a cover story with Chef Jeremy Lycan, of Niche Restaurant and vendor Heritage Prairie entitled “Support Your Local Farmer - Movement to eat food grown within 100 miles of home is gaining traction” in the July 6, 2008 issue:
Growing concern about such “food miles” has inspired many consumers to become locavores.
Betsy Zinser, 44, of Batavia began her pursuit of locally grown food two years ago after finding that a bag of broccoli in her freezer was produced in China.
Deri Gray, 47, a dedicated locavore in Geneva, said the ability to trace her food to its origin has given her peace of mind, particularly while health officials have been focused on tomatoes as they probe a nationwide salmonella outbreak.
“I knew right away the tomatoes I got here wouldn’t be tainted,” Gray said outside the Heritage Prairie Market in Elburn. “It hasn’t been touched commercially, so there’s nobody in between contaminating it with any disease.”
Many locavores cite a different reason for their dietary decision: Locally grown food is fresher, more nutritious and tastes better. That may explain why many chefs in the Chicago area’s trendiest restaurants feature locally grown ingredients.
“We’re finally getting back to craving the flavor and textures of produce that’s extremely fresh,” said Jeremy Lycan, chef at Niche Restaurant in Geneva.
Lycan gets his rib-eye from Dietzler Farms, a 750-acre farm in Walworth County, Wis., about 65 miles from his restaurant. And he gets garlic and beets from Heritage Prairie Market.
Posted in
Education at July 14th, 2008.
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