Being Vocal about Buying Local

Now that I have spent 25 days attempting to eat local it is time to be vocal about the experience.

First Lesson: Eating local is easier said than done. Try finding anything but carrots, potatoes, onions and cabbage at this time of year in our Canadian climate. Local acorn squash are hard to find although still available at the local farmer's market. Garlic on the other hand even from the farmer's market is sourced from China or some other offshore country. Although to counter this the seller's are advertising that the garlic is organic. Does this justify sourcing from another country?

Second lesson: Although the choices are limited, it makes meal planning extra simple and forces me to check out new recipes to use the few local vegetables that are still readily available.

Third Lesson: One needs to ask a lot of questions to drill down to the source of everything we buy. And often those who should be able to provide answers are more in the dark than we are. Pursuing the trail of truth about the source of food items is frustrating even for a committed environmentalist. But don't let that deter you from giving the relocalization effort a try.