Meditations on Strawberry Season, and Just What It Means to Eat Locally
Thursday, June 19, 2008 at 11:48AM 
I took some time yesterday to stop in at a small organic farm just a few miles from where I live, and pick strawberries. The strawberry season here is about two weeks long, maybe three weeks if we get lucky. Then it will move north to New Hampshire and Vermont, and eventually up to Canada.
While picking the succulent strawberries, and eating about every third one I picked, I was thinking about Anna’s story of her friend who has given up on trying to figure out which foods are safe and locally produced, and just indulges her urges by buying tomatoes from Holland and, presumably, apples from Chile and avocados from Mexico (posted on the third page of my next to last posting).
I found myself wondering, for someone who wants to eat right, as it were, where we draw the line. Just following the strawberry situation further. Am I still buying local if I buy strawberries that come in from New Hampshire? How about Quebec, where farmers are apparently expert at extending the season, typically shipping strawberries to a local farm store here well into September? Or California?
I raise these questions without having a strong opinion, because I don’t really know exactly where to draw the line. I know the Massachusetts strawberries are the best, since they aren’t sprayed with insecticide they don’t have to travel, and I can speak to the people who grown them. (They would have been even better if I had ridden my bike to the farm rather than driving.) I usually don’t know about the spraying of the strawberries from Quebec—they look and taste a lot like the ones I get in Massachusetts. They certainly generate an environmental cost in traveling to Massachusetts.
And then, what about products I can’t easily find locally, but which I know are raised with care in other less developed countries, and benefit local communities in those places? I’m thinking about shrimp raised on special farms in Ecuador that don’t use antibiotics and in spread-out conditions. And cocoa beans grown organically by small farms in the Dominican Republic. Does the fact that there is an environmental burden involved in shipping these products mean they can’t be sent out to other parts of the world, and these communities lose an option for earning income?
There’s certainly a lot to be said for buying locally and benefiting the local economy, and much has been written about the virtues by Michael Pollan, Bill McKibben, Joel Salatin and others. As I picked the local strawberries, though, I couldn’t help but wonder if there are other ways of peeling this onion.
Reader Comments (21)
I am also involved with a new farmers market in my towm. We're on our 3rd week and have mostly had a positive response from the community. However, one person emailed us to express her disappointment at not finding tomatoes, watermellon, and oranges. I wrote back explaining that tomatoes and watermellon are not yet in season in NY, and that oranges won't ever be in season here.
There is a very large Public Market in the area that is filled with distributors (who often look like farmers) selling every kind of produce, including oranges and bananas. So we have a lot of educating to do. Our farmers market is even more limited than most, because we have specified in our rules that vendors can only sell what they produce (nothing from an auction or from neighbors).
I'm not sure where I'm going with this post other than to say I understand the frustration of trying to define what it means to eat local. For myself, I just try to do the best I can, hopefully getting better every year, and then supplement with imported organic produce at the grocery store.
I try (if we don't grow it)to buy most of what we eat at the farmers market. The farmers have been very willing to talk about their products. Some of the foods are from different areas of CA. I suppose that could be local? Maybe it is how you define "local".
Learning to cook/eat what is in season can be a challange, especially when craving something. Living in the Sacramento area allows for a lot to be grown in the back yard all year.
Imported foods are few for us. My dad would argue that California avocados are much better than those from Mexico.
My local farmer's market also demands local food only. During the growing season I get my produce there. In the fall I buy a side of beef. I get my milk and eggs from a local farm year round (except when they're out of eggs). I still haven't had a truly pastured chicken, but I buy organic whenever I can. I occasionally get the most awesome pork from a local farmer (when I can afford it).
Our WAPF chapter buys products in bulk, and sometimes local co-ops get together and split cases. These are usually far-away products but at least it all comes in one shipment. This year the High Plains Food Co-op is starting up and that is all within 500 mile radius.
My family hates to go to restaurants with me because I ask the waiter if there are any trans fats (most don't know what they are), if they have virgin olive oil, and real butter. I also ask if they know where the meat came from. It's mostly an embarrassing experience but hey, point made.
I rarely go to a chain grocery store but if I do, I find the produce guy and ask what is local and organic. I walk out if they say they don't have any. Same thing with the Health Food Store - I make a point of asking if the beef is grain-finished, and if they don't know or say yes, I say no thanks and walk away.
Years ago I was very frustrated about the availability of raw milk. In 2005, there was one legal raw dairy in Colorado. Then we got herdshares legalized, and now there are 26 raw dairies.
Organic food sources were also scarce, not any more. Then I started seeking out good fats.
The market eventually responds if you're noisy, picky and willing to drive.
Now I am lobbying for local.Give it a few years, and if you can't find quality food locally, then go ahead and get remote. Implement change with your wallet - it really really works!
I know what I spend on food now at least equals what I used to spend on food and expensive cleansers, lotions, sunscreen, dog and catfood, plus doctor visits, and exorbitant vet bills.
I lost weight and feel much more energetic, happier.
-Blair
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I wrote my thoughts about this topic in a blog post last year. You can see it here, complete with a comment from our host:
http://www.mundanedaily.com/?p=75
I wonder, Elizabeth, what that customer is doing now that she's learned about the purpose of a farmers' market. Will she return, or settle back into the grocery store. Or will she, like Kathryn, balance things out by using both as necessary? More important, will she begin to rethink her definition of "necessary?"
We don't, however, have much money. We're just on the border of being able to qualify for food stamps so with gas prices going up and public transportation not an option for me we find ourselves sometimes going hungry. In the winter it's worse. We're forced to buy cheap, mass-produced, highly-processed foods just to survive. Once again though, I'm hoping this winter will be better as I do my best to can whatever extra I can get from my garden and my neighbor's and supplement our diet.
I guess what I'm saying is that for me the issue isn't 'how local should I buy', it's 'how local can I afford to buy'. I'd love nothing more than to buy half a cow and freeze it for use during the year, but we just don't have enough money coming in to save up for something like that.
http://tinyurl.com/49l6lf
Lisa
Our market committee is now adressing how we might tackle the public education piece. We have decided to approach the town library and offer a free space at the market for them. We have a list of books that we would like to see displayed (the 3 above, plus more). The library could either let people browse the books and then tell them they are available for check out, or buy a case of each to sell right there, with the profits going to their non-profit support organization "The Friends of the Library". Some of the books we want to display are not available at our local branch, so we intend to donate those copies.
We also have a flier in the works. One side will be a table format, with a produce list down one side and dates along the top, with bars showing which dates each item is in season. On the bottom, we will give a list of common produce items not grown in our state (before this experience, I wouldn't have thought that detail was necessary). On the back, we will explain the difference between a typical farmers market, our local/producer only market, a public market, a flea market, and a grocery store.
We also have invited our local Cooperative Extension office to display their info at the market. They give classes throughout the summer on freezing, canning ,drying, etc.It is an opportunity we hope people will take advantage of.
Beyond that, we realize that we can't convert everyone. Our goal is to generate enough business to keep the market going.
I have a friend who considers himself a food snob and an avid market-goer. His feeling that the idea of sourcing within a 100 mile radius is a good one yet it depends on climate and topography of the area in which one lives. The Los Angeles basin is essentially desert. This is not going to support four-stomach animals needing grass, most other meats or other foods that require wet and moist environments. He feels that the radius for some communities needs to be expanded to 200 and no more than 300 miles out. I agree with him.
Not having a product gives a vendor the time to educate. We were recently without butter for 3 months. My cohorts and I then spent most of our time teaching customers how to make butter from the cream we did have, educating them on the politics of what the farm was going through, why we did not have butter to sell, and suggesting that this is what it is like to product that is available seasonally. To me, this is also how one learns to appreciate things more. The natural response of most of the customers now is to buy 2 tubs and freeze 1 for the rainy day.The act of "putting away for the winter" has been achieved.
As for those in short money supply, consider working for a vendor at your local farmer's market. The relationships you build with the one you work for and the other farmers opens you out to trading, discounts and more. You'll learn a lot by osmosis.
I've long joked that I can't do the 100-mile-diet because of coffee and chocolate. But I can make better choices with those imported items. But for carrots, lettuces, and common produce items? They can be grown right here in my county (assuming enough water, actually), heck, even in my back yard if I put in a bit of effort, so why should I buy carrots from another part of CA, Oregon, or Washington state? My county is the main producer of US Haas avocados. I buy them in season, and forgo avos the rest of the year from Chile and Mexico, perhaps not 100%, but darn near. I can "savor the local flavor" far better if I have to go without my avos a few months.
I can completely understand *why* so many people are ignorant of seasonal and local buying issues, or if their budget is too tight, or if they have only conventional stores (though they should ask the managers to make an effort to source locally). What I find harder to understand is the *entitlement* I sometimes run across of "I want and I can, therefore I will have" attitude of people who actually know that their consuming decisions have an impact, but who can't quite bring themselves to rein in all their indulgent tendencies. I'm not saying I rein in all my indulgence urges (chocolate certainly isn't a necessity, my husband would argue about espresso), either. But I have a very hard time being "aware" but acting otherwise.
And in these days when one never knows which industrially produced food will be the source of a new nationwide illness outbreak, I guess my "payoff" for restraint about buying out-of-season, long-distance tomatoes (aside from flavor) is that it's one less thing to think/worry about. As I write this, I'm thinking that some non-raw dairy consumers might feel the same way about raw dairy. But I'm guessing I know a lot more about the raw dairy I buy (and am choosier) than they know about the out-of-season, long distance tomatoes they put in their cart.
I'll make a pitch to add Bill Mollison's "Permaculture" to your book list. I have a small garden that uses these principles and I am very pleased with how little work it entails.
I have a pretty constant source of arugula and swiss chard in the winter, tomatoes in mid-summer, and lettuces in spring. Other annuals, such as dill, appear often as well. I then just augment my plantings and stay in pretty good shape. My garden is in the '0' zone next to my house, so it's not hard to spend 10 - 15 minutes three times a week to care for it.
I highly recommend this book to home-schoolers too. It covers some basic principles of environmental science with clarity.
You have an excellent point. I find it particularly absurd that arid CA shops so much produce to, for example, the Great Lakes area. We are in effect shipping water from a desert to areas with a lot of water. Irrigated pasture actually does not take as much water as many other crops. I don't know how water usage for grass fed animals compares to water usage for feed lot animals. Given that the feed that confinement animals eat has to be grown as a crop, then harvested and processed, then shipped to where it is used, grass fed is considered by many to be more environmentally responsible.
Jean
Elizabeth
Absolutely! Water usage in CA is a huge, complex issue (actually it's a huge issue everywhere, even where water appears to be abundant), and a major factor in local food issues in CA as well as elsewhere.
It's the designer's manual. The price is hefty, but it's like a textbook. I'd imagine some of the less expensive books have good info too, but this one is comprehensive.
David, I have not read anything by Bill McKibben. It looks like he has quite a few to choose from. Is there one you would recommend?
I rechecked my library system online and found 2 older books by B. Mollison "Permaculture One" and "Permaculture Two". I also found "Earth Users Guide to Permaculture" by Rosemary Morrow which has good reviews on Amazon. So I've put them all on hold and am looking foward to reading them.
Thanks so much for the recommendation. I am in the process of enlarging my small garden. I also have heard of the term Permaculture and wondered what it meant. For my veggie garden, I have been inspired by Eliot Coleman's books and "The Victory Garden Cookbook" by Marion Morash. We intend to display these at our farmers market as well.
Everyone,
Back to the subject at hand. One issue we face in my area is the organic apple -vs- the local apple (we are in an apple growing region). Because of all the rain we get, it is very difficult to grow apples organically. The best we can do here is low-spray, with some good producers who do take it quite seriously. The organic apples in the store are from drier climates where fungus is not an issue. Each of us must make our own decision regarding which is best. Another thing to consider is that the imported organic are often inferior to the local low-spray. I see people arguing either way.
On top of this, the thing we mainly use apples for in my household is apple pie and apple sauce. As the peeling are composted, I feel that exposure to fungicides is minimal.