The reality of local in the modern world

I want to clarify a few things, as well as list some notable exceptions for my local, seasonal, and sustainable eating project to be documented here at “Big city. Little plate.” After all, I am not Barbara Kingsolver, just a regular Joe who has a fulltime job and already one fulltime obsession. There is going to be a learning curve due to my relatively limited means.

First, please notice that buying “organic” will not be a priority, or necessarily a criteria of this effort. This is basically because A may = B, but B may not = A. The organics business is a large one, as evidenced by the success of Whole Foods, but most of the organics there are anything but local and sustainable. However, it is my hypothesis that most sustainably and locally produced (and therefore distributed) food will be organic by nature. I hope this to be one of the learnings I disseminate here - whether organic is a likely byproduct of locally and sustainably produced food.

Some exceptions:

Eating out. I have friends. We do stuff together. Let's be realistic here.

Clif Bars. I am a competitive cyclist, who rides/trains/races around 150 to as many as 300 (even 400 plus on occasion) miles a week. That means a pretty massive caloric intake with much of that extra food eaten on the bike. One of the major sponsors of my team is Clif Bar. I happen to think this a wonderful company that makes a great product, and I really don’t have time to make ride-compatible food (although I will attempt this on occasion for your amusement) that is needed almost daily. So while Clif is not locally produced, it is done so a lot more sustainably than the other options available, so I will continue to buy and eat it.

Bananas. In The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Michael Pollan refers to “foodshedding.” Basically this refers to food that otherwise would be completely unavailable in a given area. For thousands of years, items such as chocolate, wine, and coffee have been traded for other goods when they are mutually unavailable in those respective areas. I really love bananas, and I would probably die without them, or at least suffer really bad cramps on the bike for lack of potassium, and I’d rather not drink Gatorade.

Speaking of foodshedding, I will also not be giving up on coffee nor wine nor Old Style, or any beer for that matter. Lucky me. Goose Island also happens to sponsor my team, so drinking local beer will be a win-win for everyone. I realize even that is not locally sourced, but I have to start somewhere, and again, let's be realistic. But I may homebrew once or twice, for your amusement.

As well, I hope get a storage and canning experience out of this project. As I typically go through two large cans of tomatoes a week for chili or pasta sauce, I don't think I will be able to completely eliminate this staple from my diet all at once. Too much physical and financial distress would come with just not eating them at all or buying them locally canned out of season. But a garden is in the works for this spring and I definitely hope to can some produce - both my own and that which I purchased. Again, this is going to be a learning experience.

As such, I have no idea where I will find locally produced grain. I have a wheat intolerance and eat a lot of rice and rice pasta. Hopefully this question will be answered in one of my initial trips to the co-op, but I anticipate the need to purchase conventionally grown and distributed rice or other grains. This will for now go under my foodshedding caveat, along with sugar, baking additives, and other such single-ingredient packaged food items. But it would be a huge victory to find a local source.

Thanks for your comments and for following. I look forward to having all of you along for the ride.