Localtarianism

Last night I attended a lecture and panel discussion (co-sponsored by VIPIRG) on eating locally. The main speaker was Alisa Smith, one of the authors of The 100 Mile Diet, a series of articles published in The Tyee and soon to be a book.

After the lecture we tossed around the idea of trying a 100 Mile Diet of our own. It would be pretty tough - in the grocery stores lately most of the produce, especially vegetable, seems to come from California or Mexico. Another problem is that none of us have access to a large freezer, a necessity for preserving local foods out of season. We'd need to get some people together, buy things in bulk, and find access to a freezer...

Having only recently given up veganism, I'm not quite ready to exchange my newfound food freedom for another restrictive diet. I do plan, however, on making a more concerted effort to eat as locally as possible.

Eating locally played into my decision to give up veganism. Why, for example, should I drink this artifically sweetened and fortified soy milk that's imported from the U.S. when I could eat some locally produced, organic yogurt? There's also my increasing skepticism about some of the natural and organic foods on the market. I think companies are taking advantage of people's desire to be healthy and eat organic; vegans and health food nuts have become another target market.

Maybe eating local will become the new vegan - localtarianism?