Going green
Sunday, January 06, 2008
Environmentalism is hot right now. I’m certainly glad to see it, but I hope that it’s just not something trendy that people do for a while and then move on to the Next!Big!Thing! The same can be said for the idea of eating local. Many of us have been trying to eat seasonally and locally as often as possible for years, but now that ‘locavore’ is the New Oxford American Dictionary’s word of the year, well...I worry that it’s going to get overplayed and that people will get burnt out on it.
It seems that foodies are already being saturated by the message. Bon Appetit’s latest issue, The Green Issue, is filled with information about eating seasonally and lists of ‘eco-friendly restaurants, even a brief interview with Alisa Smith and J.B. MacKinnon (the 100 Mile Diet folks). I thoroughly enjoyed the issue and found lots of great recipe ideas, but other readers are not so excited. They want something new, and eating local is old news. ‘Green’ style has been the topic of nearly every food, decorating, design, and clothing magazine in existence over the last six months.
The good news is that it does not appear that Philadelphia’s wide variety of farmer’s markets and farmstands are a trend. Many people have spent years building the network and going through a lot of trouble to make locally grown produce from ethical growers available here in the city and its surrounding areas. That’s some comfort, at least.
I think what you mention is key--the infrastructure of locavores, both consumer and producer, who will not change back after the news has stopped getting excited. I still see the New Oxford’s choice of ‘locavore’ as a good thing, as it means the lessage of local eating is now national. It’s like when Bush, Sr. became the first prez to mention AIDS: it wasn’t exactly a triumph, as his policies still sucked, but at least it meant AIDS had become enough part of the national discourse to warrant his attention. Go Locavores!!
I was a bit disappointed when the Inqy referred to eating seasonally as “trendy”. And many people I know think farmer’s markets are overpriced but don’t stop to consider who is on the receiving end. But then again, I had to learn about this notion of eating locally as well so maybe things will change.
Hi,
I’m the “reader” mentioned in the post...the one who’s ready for something “new”. I just wanted to clarify - I think that nothing but good has come from the local movement. And while I think maybe it’s still an important message for general media to disseminate, my impression is that everybody who’s “into food” already gets it.
I consider a commitment to local sources a given (not saying I’m perfect - I’m certainly not). So I’m just a little bored reading about something that’s already ingrained.
As an aside, I did think there was some solid reporting in that issue. But it didn’t totally erase the feeling of green fatigue I had when I looked at the cover…
P.S. Really nice blog! I wish there was something similar for Baltimore!
I’ve always loved the idea of restaurants using local foods, and there were quite a few that we loved in the Bay area, that said, I love food in general, so there were lots of places we went to that didn’t use local ingredients, and I liked them just fine.
I won’t lie, my new found love of local and organic, mostly stems from having a baby. You kind of want to give them the best start you can, and I feel better knowing what he’s eating. I wouldn’t consider it bandwagoning in that regard, and I don’t want it to be something that I continue for a couple of years, and then start feeding him chicken nuggets and pizza bagels. Although, I think I’m kind of a food snob, so I don’t even see that sort of thing making it anywhere near my house.