Last year, the Eat Local Challenge happened in September, but this year it’s been moved to October, pitting would-be food mile cutters against international fair trade activists!
Kidding — Many fair trade activists are local food advocates too, and vice versa. The idea’s to get most of your food locally and in season — then opting for fair trade for goodies that aren’t produced locally — coffee or chocolate, say.
As usual, I had Equal Exchange fair trade coffee, bought at Co-opportunity, with breakfast. Then in the afternoon heat, I concocted this cool locavorian snack:
>> Plain goat milk yogurt from Redwood Hill Farm in Sebastopol, Calif.
>> Strawberry Rhubarb Jam from Moessner Orchard in Tehachapi, Calif.
>> Organic Thompson Raisins grown in the Central California valley from SunRidge Farms, Calif.
>> Walnuts from Peacock Family Farms in Nipomo and Dinuba, Calif.
Spoon yogurt into wine glass, then top with all other ingredients. Enjoy.
I swear it looks tastier in better light. What should I name this concoction?
Sebastapol is a bit far to be considered local, I’d say. Google puts it at 429 miles from Santa Monica. Surely there’s a closer dairy making yogurt.
Comment by Don Hosek — October 1, 2008 @ 6:09 pm
Name this concoction: Just KIDding! Localiscious Swirl.
Yum
Comment by NameGirl — October 2, 2008 @ 9:33 am
By the way October is also International Co-op month, so you get extra points for shopping at Co-opportunity.
Anyway here’s a question for you that might highlight the need for a nuanced perspective regarding the buy-local issue.
Q. How should someone in Southern Cal like yourself feel about eating some of our fair trade organic almonds, which are grown by Big Tree Organic farmers co-op in California?
- They’re were grown as close as to you as any almonds you can find.
- Yet for the roasting, packaging, marketing and distribution steps they passed through two East Coast worker co-ops on their way to your local co-op.
- And, of course, they’re organic & fairly traded?
We at Equal Exchange, of course, believe that if you take the broadest perspective, looking at the entire food system, the gains from promoting co-op economic models (and not mega-corporate models) and organic and fair trade more than justify the almonds’ cross-country trip, but I’d really like to hear other’s perspective on this.
Comment by Rodney North — October 3, 2008 @ 7:36 am
Don — I count local as within Cali to make it simpler. But do let me know if you find a farm that can sell me goat milk yogurt from organic, grassfed goats that delivers its wares to the public at a bikeable distance from Santa Monica. “Surely” you can find one for me?
NameGirl — Loving Localicious Swirl :)
Rodney — Thanks for the props — and I’ll write more ’bout almonds later :)
Comment by Siel — October 7, 2008 @ 12:37 am