At the Table – Eat Local

We’ve been working overtime these past few months, trying to get all the exciting and new information we have for you up online, and we’re slowly but surely getting there. If you haven’t yet seen our new “Spread the Word” section or checked out our “Glossary of Meat Production Methods”, please do! We’re also just about ready to launch our new “Eat Local” section, to help you understand what eating local is all about and to introduce you to some of the key people and groups working on this issue.

I have to say I’ve been pleasantly surprised over the past couple of years at how popular local sustainable food has become – it’s wonderful to see so many people looking seriously at the food they’re eating. At Sustainable Table, our information on eating or buying local is consistently our top visited pages, so, I thought I’d spend a little time talking about local food as an introduction to our upcoming “Eat Local” section (which we’re hoping to have online in a couple weeks).

What does eating or buying local really mean? As with the definition of sustainability, there really isn’t a set answer for that. At Sustainable Table, we encourage consumers to eat as locally as possible and consider “local” to be as close to home as possible. For a Locavore, someone who values local food above all else, local food is considered local when it’s harvested from an area usually within 100 miles. We tell people to use their best judgment. If you live in New York City, why buy an apple from New Zealand or even Washington State when they’re grown right in the state of New York?

We don’t use that strict of a definition because different parts of the country have different climates and different access to food. Also, some foods, like oranges, might not be found anywhere nearby. We suggest people buy them from Florida or California, whichever is closer to where they live, and to especially try to avoid buying oranges from another country. In addition, products like coffee, bananas and chocolate aren’t found in the US so can’t be local. And we’re not telling people to stop eating the foods they enjoy eating – but if you want to eat these types of food, buying Fair Trade or Rainforest Alliance certified is the way to go. These third-party certifiers make sure that the farms that produce these products are sustainable and that workers are treated fairly.

If you’re wondering how you’re supposed to know where that apple or orange came from, the fruit should be stickered. In 2002, Congress passed COOL – country of origin labeling – and successfully stalled its enactment until this past fall. So, expect to see your meat, fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables, and several kinds of nuts labeled. Unfortunately, the COOL ruling left some huge loopholes, so we won’t be able to see where all our food comes from. According to a press release by Food & Water Watch, “In addition to the loophole for foods that are roasted, smoked, or cured, USDA’s interim final rule also exempts from labeling any product that contains two covered commodities, such as a bag of frozen peas and carrots or a salad mix that contains lettuce and carrots.” This actually means that raw nuts have to be labeled but roasted nuts do not – where’s the sense in that? Also, if you’re buying two vegetables combined – say frozen peas and carrots – that doesn’t have to be labeled either, but your plain frozen bag of peas or bag or carrots does.

So even though the COOL rule has a lot of problems, it’s a start. And for all of us that want to eat more locally, having food labeled is a big help. And, remember, if you go into your store and are interested in knowing where the food came from, ask your store manager. And encourage them to put up signs saying where the food is from. (Whole Foods does an excellent job at labeling where all their fruits and vegetables are from.)

For some people, there also seems to be a little confusion about local and sustainable. Just because a food is grown locally, it doesn’t mean it’s sustainable. You need to ask the farmer that grew/raised the food, or you need to trust your store manager, and you need to ask questions to find out about the production methods. Sustainable food should be produced with as few chemicals as possible and take into account the environment, workers, and animal welfare.

If you’re thinking this sounds a bit confusing, don’t worry! We encourage people to start small and to just change one food at a time. We should simply enjoy what local sustainable food has to offer, namely better taste, as well as better health and nutrition for us. So if you live in one of the extremely cold climates (right now it’s 13 degrees in Manhattan, with wind chill at minus 4!), try making some warm and filling soup – and get your potatoes from a local farmer. Your body will thank you!

And stay tuned, our Eat Local section is coming soon!…..

(Diane Hatz is the Founder of Sustainable Table, Executive Producer of The Meatrix movies and a founder of the Eat Well Guide.)