Once again the AW blog chain is rolling and I've been tagged. In the last post in the chain, Williebee writes about his experiences living in Alaska as a boy and how that has helped give him an appreciation of his current comfortable lifestyle.
Growing up in the California 'burbs didn't really expose me to any particular hardships. It's only with age that I've come to realize how good I've had it. Here I live, on the edge of the desert, and I not only have easy access to water, but I can go to my local supermarket and buy freshwater salmon or blueberries, neither of which grow nearby. But recent news of tainted food additives from China and my own mental ruminations on the American food industry (based, in part on reading this excerpt from The Omnivore's Dilemma) has made me start considering more seriously the downside to my comfortable lifestyle, food-wise at least.
I know that it would be better for the environment (and probably our health) we'd live on local food (preferably heirloom varieties) organically grown on small farms. The truth is, though, that I'm not sure I'm willing to go far out of my comfort zone to do that. I do buy most of my produce from the local green grocer and I'm trying to cut down on the amount of processed foods we eat. But, honestly, I'm not sure I'm willing to completely give up bread and pasta, and organically grown eggs and meats are usually pretty expensive. Not to mention the fact that a purely local diet would require preparing almost everything from scratch, something I don't always have the time and energy to do.
I realize that it's people like me, unwilling to give up my cheap and easy eating habits, that are a big part of the problem. I selfishly place my own comfort above global concerns. All I can say is that I'm trying to do better.
That ends the 9th AW Blog Chain. Be sure to read all the posts:
Growing up in the California 'burbs didn't really expose me to any particular hardships. It's only with age that I've come to realize how good I've had it. Here I live, on the edge of the desert, and I not only have easy access to water, but I can go to my local supermarket and buy freshwater salmon or blueberries, neither of which grow nearby. But recent news of tainted food additives from China and my own mental ruminations on the American food industry (based, in part on reading this excerpt from The Omnivore's Dilemma) has made me start considering more seriously the downside to my comfortable lifestyle, food-wise at least.
I know that it would be better for the environment (and probably our health) we'd live on local food (preferably heirloom varieties) organically grown on small farms. The truth is, though, that I'm not sure I'm willing to go far out of my comfort zone to do that. I do buy most of my produce from the local green grocer and I'm trying to cut down on the amount of processed foods we eat. But, honestly, I'm not sure I'm willing to completely give up bread and pasta, and organically grown eggs and meats are usually pretty expensive. Not to mention the fact that a purely local diet would require preparing almost everything from scratch, something I don't always have the time and energy to do.
I realize that it's people like me, unwilling to give up my cheap and easy eating habits, that are a big part of the problem. I selfishly place my own comfort above global concerns. All I can say is that I'm trying to do better.
That ends the 9th AW Blog Chain. Be sure to read all the posts:
- Virginia Lee @ I Ain't Dead Yet: So quit already!
- Cath Smith @ writing@cathsmit.com: On Courage
- Andrea Peck @ hunt & peck: Comfort Zone
- TJ Writer @ Life, Writing, and Other Things: Brave New Adventures
- Niteowl @ Periodically.org: Comfort
- Gillian @ Food History: Blogging and comfort food
- Alan Sorum @ A View From the Waterfront: Food Security and Subsistence.
- Kelly M @ Organized Chaos: AW Blog Chain 9
- Williebee @ Williebee: Chains that find me
- Peggy @ The Road Less Traveled: here you are!
Comments
We live in an age of convenience, sometimes it's just easier to let it slide. :)
kelly m: Tomatoes are one of those veggies (fruits?) that I almost never buy at the regular supermarket. They are blemish free and red, but they have no flavor at all. I don't care if they don't look perfect; flavor is what I'm looking for.
cath: I grow a bit of my own too - tomatoes and cucumbers this year. But it is harder work than just driving to the store.
andrea: I used to have the same problem with buying too much produce. It turns out that a lot of veggies freeze nicely. I just cut them up and blanch them - a couple of minutes in boiling water - drain them and let them dry, then pack them into freezer bags. It works great for green beans, broccoli and cauliflower. Cut up strawberries (sugared a bit) also freeze nicely and are very good on ice cream. Frozen grapes are a nice treat when it's hot out too.
Great post!
Virginia: You're right. I always feel a bit crappy after eating processed junk, especially if it has a lot of sugar in it.
Harbormaster: It's definitely an easier proposition to eat local here in California than in Alaska. A lot of our fish actually comes from your part of the world.