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Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 30
BellaOnline Editor Newbie
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OP
BellaOnline Editor Newbie
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 30 |
Many Americans are turning into locavores -- eating only food that is grown 100 miles from their houses. Have any of you tried this? Where do you live, what do you eat, what tips do you have?
Aimee
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Joined: Nov 2005
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BellaOnline Editor Parakeet
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BellaOnline Editor Parakeet
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 852 |
I live in Brooklyn and shop at the nearby grocery and health food stores. To be honest can't tell you where any of the food comes from--unless the package says "California grown" whatever.
But very intersting idea.
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Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 30
BellaOnline Editor Newbie
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OP
BellaOnline Editor Newbie
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 30 |
Next time you are shopping, check to see where your food is grown or shipped from. I'm sure you will be amazed!
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Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 674
Gecko
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Gecko
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 674 |
I belong to an organic food coop which delivers a big bin of locally grown fruits and veggies twice a month. They aren't all from within 100 miles but they do all come from our state.
I like eating this way for health but also it helps our local farmers, as opposed to buying produce grown in other countries, where we can't be sure of their growing practices.
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Joined: Jan 2006
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Parakeet
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Parakeet
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 970 |
I am lucky enough to live in a fairly small city that has several outlets for locally grown food; a farmer's market on one side of town and a farm store on the other. I enjoy eating locally grown foods in season, somehow having to wait until June for strawberries makes them all the more delicious when they finally come! Right now the last of the various squashes are featured at my table, and the Michigan apples are plentiful. When the fresh things finally disappear I can turn to the sweet corn, beans, snap peas and roasted tomatoes that I froze last summer.
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Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 2,616
Koala
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Koala
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 2,616 |
Aimee, you're right that it's a good idea to check labels to see where food comes from these days! You have a hard time finding grapes, for instance, that are grown in the US.
I check my fish too to see where it came from. Farmed fish is produced in polluted water and the fish are more likely to have viruses, etc-yuk. Plus it adds to the pollution of our oceans. I don't buy anything but wild caught anymore or anything from outside the US.
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Joined: Jan 2006
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Chipmunk
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Chipmunk
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 1,671 |
I like to shop at Walmart -- they have little sign next to each kind of produce that says where it's from.
Former Chocolate Editor. Also known as Daisybun.
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Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 22,934 Likes: 4
BellaOnline Editor Highest Posting Power Known to Humanity
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BellaOnline Editor Highest Posting Power Known to Humanity
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 22,934 Likes: 4 |
I'm very lucky to live in a fairly rural area and we have actual farms around us. I like going to their little stores to help support them. The food is cheaper because there's no middle man, and the environmental impact is low because the food doesn't have to be shipped thousands of miles to me.
It's hard right now because it's snowy - I am very eagerly looking forward to another month or two when the spring crops start becoming available! I have the seeds ready to plant tomatoes and a few other things. I always start them WAY too early because I'm impatient so this year I'm waiting. I should start them soon though!
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Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 30
BellaOnline Editor Newbie
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OP
BellaOnline Editor Newbie
Joined: Aug 2008
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Lisa, Some northern places have winter markets -- root veggies and what not. I am in snowy upstate NY and every third Thursday our local market has its winter market.
You may want to look into something similar. Aimee
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Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 22,934 Likes: 4
BellaOnline Editor Highest Posting Power Known to Humanity
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BellaOnline Editor Highest Posting Power Known to Humanity
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I definitely will! I just finished Animal Vegetable Miracle last night and it was very good. It tells of a family who eat only local food for a solid year. I really want to head in that direction myself. I like international wines so that will have to be an exception for me I do drink a lot of local wine though! The farm stand near us is definitely closed. I'll scout around though!
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Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 674
Gecko
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Gecko
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 674 |
I read someplace that local wines have less sulfates than those that must be shipped hundreds of miles because they don't need as many preservatives if bought locally. Does anybody know if this is true? I have a lot of trouble with sulfates but locally produced wines seem ok for me.
We try to eat locally too, or at least grown in the US and preferably organic. I read that the current economy and worries over the unsafe food supplies have led more and more people to garden this year. Seed sales are way up!
To me, this is a good thing. People need to be connected to where their food comes from. I grew up on a farm and always have at least some food growing in containers.
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Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 22,934 Likes: 4
BellaOnline Editor Highest Posting Power Known to Humanity
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BellaOnline Editor Highest Posting Power Known to Humanity
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 22,934 Likes: 4 |
HealthyMom62 - I am actually a wine writer and have done a lot of research into sulfites (not sulfates with an A). Sulfites are used by winemakers to keep the PROCESS clean. They want the wine that gets bottled to be safe no matter who drinks it anywhere in the world. So it has nothing at all to do with shipping. Once the wine is in the bottle and corked, it's done. It can then be consumed locally or internationally, it doesn't matter.
Are you sure it's sulfites you have a problem with? Do you have more of a problem with red wines or white wines? Also do you have less of a problem with wines over $10?
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Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 22,934 Likes: 4
BellaOnline Editor Highest Posting Power Known to Humanity
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BellaOnline Editor Highest Posting Power Known to Humanity
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Posts: 22,934 Likes: 4 |
Here - from my wine pages -
"The easy way to see if sulfites are a problem are for you is to eat a food high in natural sulfites - say, dried apricots. On average, 2oz of dried apricots have 10 times the sulfites as a glass of wine does. If you eat those apricots and have a reaction, now you know it's time to talk with a doctor. "
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