Ten Reasons To Buy Local Food
Brenton Johnson, who hosted a recent local-food gourmet dinner on his organic farm, Johnson's Backyard Garden, just east of Austin, Texas, represents a new breed of young, organic farmer whose philosophy is to live in harmony with the land and bring back the sustainable ways. Naturally (no pun intended), he advocates buying local food.
In between tending his turnips and perusing the potatoes, Brenton penned this wise, authoritative list, which he agreed to share with us. (We couldn't write it any better.)
This isn't just about helping the local farmer, it's about preserving our planet (and eatin' better, too!).
Why Buy Local?
1. Locally grown food tastes better.
Food grown in your own community is usually picked within the past day or two. It's crisp, sweet, and loaded with flavor. Produce flown or trucked in from Florida, Chile, Mexico, or Holland is, quite understandably, much older. Several studies have shown that the average distance food travels from farm to plate is 1,500 miles. In a weeklong delay from harvest to dinner plate, sugars turn to starches, plant cells shrink, and produce loses its vitality
2. Local produce is better for you.
Studies showed that fresh produce loses nutrients quickly. Locally grown food, purchased soon after harvest, retains its nutrients.
3. Local food preserves genetic diversity.
In the modern industrial agricultural system, varieties are chosen for their ability to ripen simultaneously and withstand harvesting equipment; for a tough skin that can survive packing and shipping; and for an ability to have a long shelf life in the store. Only a handful of hybrid varieties of each fruit and vegetable meet those rigorous demands, so there is little genetic diversity in the plants grown. Local farms, in contrast, grow a huge number of varieties to provide a long season of harvest, an array of eye-catching colors, and the best flavors. Many varieties are heirlooms, passed down from generation to generation, because they taste good.These old varieties contain genetic material from hundreds or even thousands of years of human selection; they may someday provide the genes needed to create varieties that will thrive in a changing climate. Local food preserves genetic diversity.
4. Local food is GMO-free.
Although biotechnology companies
have been trying to commercialize genetically modified fruits and vegetables, they are currently licensing them only to large factory-style farms. Local farmers don't have access to genetically modified seed, and most of them wouldn't use it even if they could. A June 2001 survey by ABC News showed that 93% of Americans want labels on genetically modified food - most so that they can avoid it. If you are opposed to eating bio-engineered food, you can rest assured that locally grown produce was bred the old-fashioned way, as nature intended.
5. Local food supports local farm families.
With fewer than 1 million Americans now listing farming as their primary occupation, farmers are a vanishing breed. Local farmers who sell direct to consumers cut out the middle man and get full retail price for their crops - which means farm families can afford to stay on the farm, doing what they love.
6. Local food builds a stronger community.
When you buy direct from the farmer, you are re-establishing a time-honored connection between the eater and the grower. Knowing the farmers gives you insight into the seasons, the weather, and the miracle of raising food. In many cases, it gives you access to a farm where your children and grandchildren can go to learn about nature and agriculture. Relationships built on understanding and trust can thrive.
7. Local food preserves open space.
As the value of direct-marketed fruits and vegetables increases, selling farmland for development becomes less likely. You have probably enjoyed driving out into the country and appreciated the lush fields of crops, the meadows full of wildflowers, the picturesque red barns. That landscape will survive only as long as farms are financially viable. When you buy locally grown food, you are doing something proactive about preserving the agricultural landscape.
8. Local food helps to keep your taxes in check.
Farms contribute more in taxes than they require in services, whereas suburban development costs more than it generates in taxes, according to several studies.
9. Local food supports a clean environment and benefits wildlife.
A well-managed family farm is a place where the resources of fertile soil and clean water are valued. Good stewards of the land grow cover crops to prevent erosion and replace nutrients used by their crops. Cover crops also capture carbon emissions and help combat global warming. According to some estimates, farmers who practice conservation
tillage could sequester 12-14% of the carbon emitted by vehicles and industry. In addition, the habitat of a farm - the patchwork of fields, meadows, woods, ponds, and buildings - is the perfect environment for the many species of wildlife including owls, hawks, blue herons, bats, and rabbits, and foxes.
10. Local food is about the future.
By supporting local farmers today, you can help ensure that there will be farms in your community tomorrow so that future generations will have access to nourishing, flavorful, and abundant food.
Closure call for tuna 'disgrace'
By Richard Black
Major tuna-fishing nations have backed calls for temporary closure of the Mediterranean tuna fishery, branded a "disgrace" by a recent expert report.
The World Conservation Congress passed a motion calling for closure of the bluefin fishery until scientifically sound recovery plans are in place.
Catches are estimated to be about four times higher than scientists recommend.
Spain, which has the biggest quota for Mediterranean tuna, and Japan, the biggest consumer, voted in favour.
"For the first time, important countries like Spain and Japan have supported bold and explicit action to avoid collapse of the stock"
Sergi Tudela, WWF
The organisation responsible for managing the fishery, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (Iccat), was pilloried in a recent independent report which it had been obliged to commission.
Experts from Australia, Japan and Canada noted that the body's performance was "widely regarded as an international disgrace", and that the international community in whose interests Iccat operates "deserves better performance than it has received to date".
The report put the blame firmly on the shoulders of Iccat's member nations which, it said, did not stamp down on illegal fishing, did not provide accurate catch data, and failed to implement proper monitoring arrangements for its fleets.
It concluded there were far too many boats chasing too few fish.
The report recommended an interim ban on fishing in the Mediterranean and eastern Atlantic, a measure that the US has previously backed.
Falling stock
In 2006, Iccat scientists recommended catches be limited to about 15,000 tonnes per year.
But the government appointees that make the decisions chose to allow quotas twice as big, and it is estimated that a further 20,000 tonnes are landed illegally each year.
As a result, the number of fish has fallen to about one-third of its level in the 1970s.
Spain's support for its own fleet has been viewed as one of the principal reasons why catches have not been brought down to sustainable levels.
But here in Barcelona, the Spanish delegation announced that "with satisfaction and responsibility, Spain has participated in building up consensus to get a compromise that will allow us to reverse the critical situation in the bluefin tuna population in the eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean."
The motion they backed calls for Iccat to shorten the fishing season especially during the spawning months of May and June, establish protection zones around spawning sites and suspend fishing completely until member nations have begun to reduce the size of their fleets.
'Turning point'
"We hope it's the end of the degradation of the management of the bluefin tuna fishery," said Sergi Tudela, head of the fisheries programme with environment group WWF.
"Today, it's a turning point - for the first time, important countries like Spain and Japan have supported bold and explicit action to avoid collapse of the stock, and we hope the spirit of this meeting will be continued next month in the crucial Iccat meeting in Marrakesh."
That meeting could decide on a closure, or on other conservation measures.
Japan's demand for bluefin for the lucrative sashimi business is widely cited as the trade's main driver.
But it appears that Japan will back calls for a moratorium.
Fisheries agency official Hideki Moronuki told BBC News: "Urgent and effective action has to be taken for the conservation and sustainable use of this particular species.
"We believe that with this particular motion we can do something for the conservation of bluefin tuna, so that in future it can become a sustainable fishery."
Grilled Georgia Peaches with Bitter Greens and Bleu Cheese
Ingredients:
60g/1/2 cup pecans
4 firm, ripe freestone peaches, halved and pitted
45ml/2 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
15ml/1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
85g/3 ounces arugula, large stems discarded
One head frisée, torn into bite-size pieces (4 cups)
85g/3 ounces Cabrales cheese, crumbled (1 cup)
Directions
1. Light a grill. Put the pecans on a sheet of aluminum foil and fold into a small pouch. Place on the grill and toast for 7 minutes, or until they are golden brown. Transfer the pecans to a plate and let cool, then coarsely chop.
2. In a medium bowl, toss the peaches with 1/2 tablespoon of the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill the peaches over a medium-high fire until softened and lightly browned, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer the peaches to a work surface and cut each half in half.
3. In a medium bowl, mix the vinegar with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Add the arugula and frisée and toss well. Transfer the salad to a platter and scatter the blue cheese and toasted pecans on top. Arrange the peaches around the salad and serve.
SERVES: 8
Prep time: 10 minutes
Grilling time: 20 minutes
Green Advice: Most of these ingredients can be purchased from local organic farms can also provide friut from the closest possible sources.
Grilled Wild Shrimp with Red Onion and Oranges
Ingredients:
60ml/1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1 large garlic clove, minced
2 canned chipotle chiles in adobo, stems discarded,seeded and thinly sliced, plus 1 teaspoon of the adobo sauce from the can
30ml/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
680g/1 1/2 pounds shelled and de-veined large wild shrimp
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 large red onion, cut crosswise into 3 thick slabs
15ml/1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
3 large navel oranges—peeled, halved lengthwise
and thinly sliced crosswise
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
Directions
1. In a medium bowl, combine the orange juice with the garlic, adobo sauce and 1 tablespoon of the lime juice. Add the shrimp, season with salt and pepper; let sit at room temperature for 10 minutes.
2. Preheat a grill until smoking. Thread the onion slices on skewers to hold them together. Brush the onions with some of the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill the slices over high heat, turning once, until softened and charred, about 3 minutes per side. Let cool slightly, then transfer them to a medium bowl. Add the sliced oranges, chipotles, cilantro and the remaining 1 tablespoon lime juice. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Drain and thread the shrimp onto 6 metal skewers. Brush lightly with the remaining olive oil and grill over moderately high heat, turning occasionally, until charred in spots, about 5 minutes. Serve the shrimp over the onion and orange salad.
SERVES: 6
Prep time: 15 minutes
Grilling time: 10 minutes
Green Advice: Wild shrimp and local organics keep this dish tasty and healthy.
Grilled Salmon with Teriyaki Shitake
Ingredients:
45ml/1/4 cup plus 15ml/1 tablespoon sake
45ml/2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
15g/2 1/2 teaspoons light brown sugar
10ml/2 teaspoons Asian sesame oil
15ml/1 tablespoon canola oil
225g/3/4 pound shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and caps thickly sliced
Four 170g/6-ounce skinless salmon fillets (line caught)
1 tablespoon snipped chives
Directions
1. Preheat a grill until smoking. In a small bowl, whisk the sake with the soy sauce, brown sugar and sesame oil. In
another bowl toss the shitake with 2 tablespoons of the soy-sake mixture and season with salt and pepper. Put the shiitakes on the grill and grill over high heat, turning occasionally, until lightly browned in spots and tender. Transfer the mushrooms to a plate.
2. While the shitakes are grilling, place the salmon on a
platter and spoon 3-4 tablespoons of the soy-sake mixture over the fillets. Grill over high heat, turning once, until lightly charred. As you grill, drizzle a bit more of the soy-sake mixture over the salmon to slightly glaze. Grill about 2 minutes on each side.
3. Transfer the salmon to plates and top with the mushrooms. Sprinkle with the snipped chives and serve with steamed
Jasmine rice.
SERVES: 4
Prep time: 5 minutes
Grilling time: 10 minutes
Green Advice: Buy line caught salmon, and organic and/or local chives, oil, and mushrooms.