Last day of eating locally! Today I ate a moldy bagel for lunch. My parents told me mold can't hurt me and to just eat it so I did. This bagel was moldy because it had no preservatives (an apparent side affect of eating locally). It tasted normal, just a little fuzz growing in some areas. I also ate my usual fruit leather, strawberry applesauce and milk.
Today I had to work so I ate some dried cherries during my break and when I got home I ate a grilled cheese and summer sausage sandwich, salad, and root beer. We had ice cream later. It was a great meal I was able to throw together in minutes.
Tonight we watched King Corn, a documentary. It was another aspect of my project I hadn't considered yet. Two guys decided to grow one acre of corn in Iowa. They cared for the corn just as any farmer in Iowa would and followed the corn to where it ends up. It reiterated the issues small farmers face in America and it showed the effects of eating corn in almost every meal (corn-fed beef, corn syrup, etc.). It was interesting because they said that a farmer in Iowa used to be able to feed himself from his own crop. Nowadays, farmers barely ever eat their crops. The corn is basically inedible until it is processed. It makes sense that no one is able to eat locally if even farmers can't.
This film also opened my eyes to how farming has progressed in this century. They said how in the 1901 people would spend 30% of their income on food. Now people spend 16%. America wants cheap food, so corporations provide it. It also showed how hard people had to work in the early part of this century. With more time and more money you think Americans would be happier, but I don't know if we are. It was a good movie and I would recommend it to anyone interested in gaining a new perspective about farming and America's corn production.
The last thing I wanted to talk about in regard to eating locally. I honestly did not know at the beginning of this week if it would be possible for a Minnesotan to eat locally. I have decided it is definitely possible to eat locally all year round. It may take time, energy, and money, but if someone is willing to sacrifice it is possible.
This is a great blog to check out if you are interested in learning more about eating locally, http://www.eatlocalchallenge.com/ This blog was started in 2005, long before it became popular to eat locally. It includes great pictures and recipes. Check it out!
Today I had to work so I ate some dried cherries during my break and when I got home I ate a grilled cheese and summer sausage sandwich, salad, and root beer. We had ice cream later. It was a great meal I was able to throw together in minutes.
Tonight we watched King Corn, a documentary. It was another aspect of my project I hadn't considered yet. Two guys decided to grow one acre of corn in Iowa. They cared for the corn just as any farmer in Iowa would and followed the corn to where it ends up. It reiterated the issues small farmers face in America and it showed the effects of eating corn in almost every meal (corn-fed beef, corn syrup, etc.). It was interesting because they said that a farmer in Iowa used to be able to feed himself from his own crop. Nowadays, farmers barely ever eat their crops. The corn is basically inedible until it is processed. It makes sense that no one is able to eat locally if even farmers can't.
This film also opened my eyes to how farming has progressed in this century. They said how in the 1901 people would spend 30% of their income on food. Now people spend 16%. America wants cheap food, so corporations provide it. It also showed how hard people had to work in the early part of this century. With more time and more money you think Americans would be happier, but I don't know if we are. It was a good movie and I would recommend it to anyone interested in gaining a new perspective about farming and America's corn production.
The last thing I wanted to talk about in regard to eating locally. I honestly did not know at the beginning of this week if it would be possible for a Minnesotan to eat locally. I have decided it is definitely possible to eat locally all year round. It may take time, energy, and money, but if someone is willing to sacrifice it is possible.
This is a great blog to check out if you are interested in learning more about eating locally, http://www.eatlocalchallenge.com/ This blog was started in 2005, long before it became popular to eat locally. It includes great pictures and recipes. Check it out!
I think it is great that you had such an adventurous spirit to tackle this project, delving into an area where you had little prior knowledge and being willing to learn.
ReplyDeleteYour observations throughout have been astute, and your blog interesting to read.
Perhaps one of the biggest take-aways for me is the conclusion you drew earlier this week about the need to eat only partially locally -- I believe you suggested 75%. I think that difference would allow for some winter fruit and vegetables, and might limit the cost of some very expensive components of diet. This one change might allow you to eat more healthily as well as inexpensively.