The Eat-Local Backlash

[nosmokes]

I love it! Sustainable Local Organic has arrived! You can tell because there's enemies in high places.Goddess, what a world we live in.
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original-grist

The Eat-Local Backlash
If buying locally isn't the answer, then what is?
By Tom Philpott
16 Aug 2007

Attention farmers' market shoppers: Put that heirloom tomato down and rush to the nearest supermarket.

By seeking local food, you're wantonly spewing carbon into the atmosphere.

That's the message of a budding backlash against the eat-local movement. The Economist fired a shotgun-style opening salvo last December, peppering what it called the "ethical foods movement" with a broad-spectrum critique.

Among the claims: organic agriculture consumes more energy than conventional, and food bought from nearby sources often creates more greenhouse-gas emissions than food hauled in from long distances. (Here was my response to that influential piece).

More recently, in a New York Times op-ed piece, the historian James E. McWilliams sought to debunk the idea that choosing locally produced food automatically decreases one's carbon footprint. He warns that efforts to reduce "food-miles" -- the distance between farm and plate -- might actually support higher carbon emissions at the source. And in Britain, a debate over whether to withdraw organic certification from African imports based on their transportation impact has spurred coverage of the issue as well.

In a sense, these high-profile rebukes are good news: they herald the arrival of the sustainable-food movement as a pop-culture phenomenon. Just as you're not really famous until you've been rumored to be gay or on drugs, a movement hasn't come into its own until it's drawn a formidable entourage of detractors.
~snip~
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complete article here

[panader0]

1. I just walk out to my garden.........

[glitch]

2. I eat my dandelions :)- Good article, K & R nt

[spinbaby]

5. Yep

I just harvested half bushel of garlic from out back. No cost to grow, no carbon footprint.

[Tesha]

20. I'll bet you don't get many vampires around your way...

> I just harvested half bushel of garlic from out back.

Holy-moley! I'll bet you don't get many vampires around your way!

Tesha

[spinbaby]

31. No vampires at our house!

We go through that half bushel of garlic in a year.

Onto another food group--I've been buying my beef from a nice lady at the farmers' market who sells local grass-fed beef from Scottish Highland cattle. It's very good beef, but recently I visited their Web site. They have portraits of their cattle on line! With names! And they're cute! I feel so bad for eating them.

http://www.strathande.com/ourcows.html

[Gormy Cuss]

42. And it stinks.

I grow garlic too. In this climate the overwintered crop is ready to pick in late May and because of our climate (mild winters with lots of rain) we usually don't water it nor feed it during the growing season -- just amend the soil when we plant it. It's so easy to grow and we too grow enough to last the whole year.

The U.S. is now a net importer of garlic. That's just plain sick. Most fresh garlic is still grown domestically but most dehydrated and powdered garlic is imported from China.

[Arugula Latte]

32. Commie

:D

[hatrack]

3. How DARE we?!? The NERVE!!!!

How DARE we aspire to a little bit of self-sufficiency, or a desire to help local growers by buying locally produced, fresh and delicious food?!?!?!

Now get back in the Goddamned SUPERMARKET and start buying tomatoes from Chile and apples from China RIGHT NOW, or Baby Market Jesus will DIE, you ingrates!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[redqueen]

4. ...

:rofl:

[mikeytherat]

27. Baby Market Jesus!

:rofl:

Oh, God, I'm dying here!

Baby Market Jebus - I HAVE to steal that one (with attribution, of course)!

mikey_the_rat

[Quantess]

6. Consider having a few chickens in your yard

(for those who have a yard). Keeping chickens is rewarding and entertaining, and the eggs are SO much tastier than farm-raised eggs.
www.the-coop.org

[scorpiogirl]

7. Yep, we have five chickens.

They are so entertaining! Ever see a chicken ice skate?

[Quantess]

9. LOL, I don't think I have. But they sure are fun to have around.

Another great thing about keeping a few egg laying hens: you aren't supporting egg factories.

Chickens are legal in most places: In the Portland city limits, up to 3 hens are allowed at a residence.

[scorpiogirl]

14. I love that I haven't bought eggs in years.

I agree, I can't stand the thought of how those chickens are treated. We're allowed to have up to six here. Most people are very surprised when I tell them we have chickens. They always ask if it's legal. The chickens also eat lots of bugs, weeds, etc. The poop is great for composting too, although not fun when tracked into the house by my kids. Fortunately, that doesn't happen too often anymore. What kind of chickens do you have? We've got a New Hamphire red, a buff orpington, and three black orpingtons. The black ones have a very pretty green irisdescence in the sun.

[Habibi]

15. This interests me!

How do you find out if your municipality allows chickens? What do you do when you want to go out of town on vacation? How many eggs do you get from the chickens you have? Do you eat your chickens eventually?

[scorpiogirl]

19. Thanks for asking.

Actually, when we decided to get chickens, we didn't really know if we could have them. Turns out our town council had a situation where another family was trying to keep chickens and they had to fight for the right to have six. I think originally our town said 4, but after the discussion, allowed the six. I would just call the local police department or city and ask.

Going on vacation is a challenge because the chickens have to let out early (about 6am) otherwise they make a ton of noise that I'm sure our neighbors don't appreciate. In the evenings, at twilight, they just go into their coop and we just have to close the door. Unfortunately, they must be locked in otherwise raccoons will get them. We lost one early on before my husband realized he needed to lock them in as soon as it's dark. So if want to go out of town, we have to find someone nearby to let them in and out.

When they're all laying, we get on average, one egg from each a day. They usually stop laying right before they moult. Lately, we've only been getting one egg total per day. We haven't had any die naturally yet, but I don't think we could eat them since they're pets. We'll probably just bury them in the backyard next to my kitty.

If you want chickens, just be prepared for the poop. I was really not prepared for the reality of it, but I'm use to it now. As I said before, it's great if you compost. Actually, my husband has just sprinkled it in the dirt around plants and it helps them grow faster.

All in all, chickens are funny to watch. It's fun to watch them play keep-away when one gets ahold of a nice fat worm! They are ruthless too though. You wouldn't want to be the lowest in their pecking-order, that's for sure.

[Habibi]

44. Thanks!

I don't think we're quite ready to go there yet but I'm certainly willing to entertain the possibility.

[OnionPatch]

52. I have chickens

and most days I let them in and out morning and evening like ScorpioGirl says, but I have their little coops inside of a 12x12 dog kennel-type pen. If we go away for a few days, the pen stays locked and they can only wander around in there instead of the whole field like usual. But it's better than being eaten by a bear. (Racoons aren't a problem here. Bears are.) I just leave a couple of self-feeders and self-waterers. I can leave them safely for about three days like this. If I leave for longer, I still leave them penned but have someone come check their food and water every few days. It's much easier and cheaper to do this way.

Other than that, they are very little work for all the eggs you get in return. I have so many extra eggs that people are constantly trading me things for them like fresh vegetables and fruit from their gardens. I don't have to garden as much as I used to. :D

[here_is_to_hope]

28. "tis better to seek forgiveness....

than ask permission..."
I live in Coos and thats our situation here, we have'em, we didnt ask, forgive us...:evilgrin:

[Quantess]

18. When I'm living at my sister's place, in Oregon City,

we have about 20 chickens. Barred rocks, a leghorn, 2 buff orpingtons, ameraucanas (the green egg layers), a black sex-link, a golden sex-link, and a bunch of mixed-breeds. We used to have Polish cresteds, but they were all eaten by predators. The Polish cresteds are easy prey, because their vision is blocked by their beautiful head plumage.

I have no chickens in WA. My boyfriend is opposed to keeping chickens because chickens don't fit in with his "image".

And yes, chicken poop is excellent for the soil.

[scorpiogirl]

21. Wow! I've never seen the green eggs.

That sounds cool. I think the five would be all I could handle. They are so noisy in the morning. I'm usually kicking my husband out of bed to let them out so they'll shut-up!

People usually think we must live in the 'farmy' part of town, but really we just have a big backyard and neighbors right next door just like everyone else. I'm sure some people think we're nuts, but we're mostly normal!

[Quantess]

22. I have a neighbor in Federal Way, WA who has chickens, and I want to support them.

A neighbor at my boyfriend's house in Federal Way, WA, has about 3 or 4 hens and a rooster. I'm considering writing a thank-you note, saying "I like your chickens". Should I?

I'm thinking that suburban chicken owners need all the help and encouragement they can can get.

I think that one day, out of necessity, everyone will have a few hens, a milk goat, and a bicycle. Once again, it's my wishful thinking.

[4_TN_TITANS]

34. Love my birds!

Who ever coined the phrase 'curiosity killed the cat' never had chickens. They keep the ticks mowed down and are so entertaining. It can be hard to keep them as free range though, there's an endless list of animals that love fresh chicken for dinner.

[Evoman]

58. I love chickens. They always sound like an angry Bruce Lee.

I stopped eating chicken meat after getting aquainted with some chickens at a ranch.

[Speck Tater]

8. I've never tried local backlash. Is it as good as imported backlash? nt

[JHB]

10. It's not aged as much, but boy does it have a kick to it!

:evilgrin:

[warren pease]

46. Free-range backlash is a lot tastier and feed pens are not involved n/t

[alcibiades_mystery]

11. Wow...the forces of reaction are really stretching

It must be affecting their bottom line now. Good.

[Blue_In_AK]

12. Even in Alaska we have locally grown food.

I have my garden, plus all the local supermarkets sell locally grown cabbage, squash, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, peas, etc. Local potatoes and carrots are available all through the winter. Considering the miles imported food has to travel to get up here, I'm sure our local stuff leaves far less of a footprint, plus it tastes much, much better.

[niyad]

13. would somebody please explain to me HOW buying locally INCREASES the carbon footprint? did I just

not ingest enough funny mushrooms? (note to self: see if any local vendors HAVE funny mushrooms!!)

[loudsue]

26. If you find any locally grown funny mushrooms, would you consider

starting a mail order business??? ;)

:kick:

[SammyWinstonJack]

41. ...

:evilgrin:

[loudsue]

43. ....

:thumbsup:

[Katherine Brengle]

16. They must know that this makes no sense, right?

It would take the same amount of energy (or close enough) to grow a tomato in Canada that it would to grow it down the street. But it wouldn't need to be cleaned/waxed, stickered, packed, and trucked/flown into the country/across the country, trucked to individual stores, then unpacked, stocked, and sold.

WTF.

I'm so sick of this shit. Which reminds me, off to ye local farmstand and Whole Foods tomorrow.

[DeSwiss]

17. What a great post!!!! And what an ASSHAT!!!!

On further in the article:

"More recently, in a New York Times op-ed piece, the historian James E. McWilliams sought to debunk the idea that choosing locally produced food automatically decreases one's carbon footprint. He warns that efforts to reduce "food-miles" -- the distance between farm and plate -- might actually support higher carbon emissions at the source."

And people wonder why the economy is so fucked up! These assholes can't even count mileage.




K&R!!!

[smoogatz]

23. The local stuff just tastes better.

Store-bought tomatoes are crap. As is store corn. We get by on store produce in the winter, but in the summer we hit the farmer's market instead, and all of our produce is locally grown organic. Where we live, there's no store that sells organic meats, either. We buy a quarter of an organic, grass-fed beef every year or so from a local farmer. Also buffalo, which is better tasting and leaner than beef. Yum. Buffalo. If we had to rely on store food only, our diet would be a hell of a lot less healthy and wouldn't taste nearly as good.

[Recursion]

24. Find your local direct-to-consumer or CSA farm!

http://www.localharvest.org/csa/
http://www.localharvest.org/organic-farms/

Remember when vegetables used to have a season? What's so frigging wrong with that? I prefer getting really good strawberries 3 months out of the year to getting crappy strawberries all year round. I get meat from animals that lived in a pasture rather than a cramped, vile cage and ate grass rather than chopped-up parts of other animals.

[JCMach1]

25. meanwhile, they continue to build over prime farmland in florida

It was making me sick this time... it has been bad in the past... but farmland is an endangered species... being replaced by mcmansions and 'planned' communities.

[formercia]

29. First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you

then you win.

Ghandi

[underpants]

30. .

[DU GrovelBot]

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[EstimatedProphet]

39. Here comes Grovelbot to hijack the thread again

He's just jealous because he only eats batteries.

[Kurovski]

45. He also eats brains and souls,

but who needs those these days?

[EstimatedProphet]

48. Who even has them these days?

[Kurovski]

50. AL GORE! (nt)

[Kurovski]

35. K&R. (nt)

[myrna minx]

36. Wow, it seems like the "free trade capitalists" really resent it

when the "market" doesn't submit to them and their will.

[EstimatedProphet]

37. ROFL!

Among the claims: organic agriculture consumes more energy than conventional, and food bought from nearby sources often creates more greenhouse-gas emissions than food hauled in from long distances. (Here was my response to that influential piece).

Because of course, the more anything travels, the less energy it uses! Apparently now we can un-burn fuel!

Is there anyone left that isn't fucking stupid in their readership?

[truedelphi]

51. Well the original source of the words "the more anything

travels, the less energy it uses" were from the mouth of Jesus (Probably the Baby Market Jesus mentioned above)

it's not stupidity - it's religious-osity.

[Vinca]

38. I don't know from carbon footprints, but I'm betting the vitamins and

minerals in my still-warm-from-being-in-the-sun-on-the-vine tomatoes will best any produce trucked in from the other side of the country. My new goal in life is to build an all-season greenhouse so I can enjoy the fruits of my own labor all year long.

[BlooInBloo]

40. No matter WHAT you do, people who want to bitch....

... (i.e., the Greenier-than-thou crowd) will find a reason. So I eat what I want.

[bvar22]

47. ZERO Carbon Emmissions transporting these beauties.

ZERO Carbon Emmissions transporting these beauties from our organic garden to the kitchen table.
YUM!

The tomatoes are tapering off now, but the Canteloupes, Watermelons, and Pumpkins are coming on strong.

[truedelphi]

53. Wow!! n/t

[susanna]

56. My Yellow Brandywines are almost in in MI...

I'm sooooooo ready. Those are the best tomatoes I've ever tasted. :-)

[daninthemoon]

49. I'm still trying to figure out how it can be more cost effective to

get pet food ingredients from China.

[whoneedstickets]

57. Volume, Volume, Volume!!!

Shipping 1000 tomatoes 1000 miles from California in a truck = 1 tomato mile per unit, Shipping 50 tomatoes 10 miles by car = 5 tomato miles per unit. The car would have to be 5X as efficient as the truck for the carbon output per tomato to be even.

[beltanefauve]

54. Thanks to

the cost of getting food to market these days, I'm getting BETTER prices at the local farmer's markets. That's right, better prices on local California Certified Organic produce, that was picked that morning and breathes the same air and drinks the same water I do. And I've been spreading the word far and wide. Screw The Man!

[susanna]

55. Oh yeah? Where's the data on that?

on edit: I'm not dissing you, OP; I'm laughing at the efficiency of a tomato shipped from Chile vs. the one I just picked this afternoon in my backyard. Sorry!