Buy Local. Eat Seasonally. Why it Matters.
“Long chain distribution patterns" is one of those phrases I read when I’m researching systemic problems about food. My eyes glaze over when I read it too, but we are the individuals creating the system, so let’s see how your basket of groceries here really matters.
Strawberries and avocados from Mexico.
A pineapple from Belize.
Bananas from Ecuador.
Cheese from France.
Salmon from Alaska.
Quinoa from Bolivia.
Quite the long trip they made to your basket, yes?
Stores like Whole Foods have done their diligence in placing the country of origin right on the food label, but even if where you shop doesn’t tell you about an item’s origins, simple common sense starting with a few easily remembered guidelines can help you.
Being aware of where food comes from is more important than you might have thought. Here are a few reasons why:
1. The farther food has to travel, the more fossil fuels are burned in transportation from point A to B to C to D. Shipping ports have some of the most contaminated air and water in the world, affecting thousands of marine and estuary wildlife species. Climate controlled trucks and hulls for perishable foods need even more fuel, compounding the problem more.
2. The next less obvious but even more serious issue is plant species and seed extinction. As Monsanto continues to push GMO Roundup Ready seed in the developing world, vast monoculture crops like rice, wheat, corn, and soy displace indigenous food sources. Productive forest gardens of nutrient rich diversity of fruit, nuts, legumes, vegetables, and oil seeds are cleared for so called "staple grains." Without a doubt, your bag of Indian basmati rice is costing us and the planet a lot more than $2.49/lb.
3. Spikes in demand/trends in the developed world often create imbalances and even conflict elsewhere. For example, several years ago, Bolivia took action to limit its export of quinoa because when white people discovered quinoa the demand for it rose. At first the Andean highland people responded positively, as the income was welcomed — until too many companies began exporting all of it and children started showing signs of protein and mineral deficiencies.
In another case, produce company Driscoll’s has reportedly used threat of force to get Mexican laborers striking for better working conditions back to work in the fields. What did the workers want? Protection from rabid rats biting them while they picked strawberries. Seriously folks. We can’t even imagine what other people go through to meet our fickle demands.
Which brings me to the point I really want to make: that behind the destructive fossil fuel consumption, pollution, and disregard for people in other countries lies hidden a culture of entitlement — the belief that we can keep consuming whatever we have a yearn for in the moment without consequence.
Yes. Corporate avarice is a huge part of the problem. Yes. But I’m not talking about that right now. I’m talking about us, and this shopping basket here.
Ask yourself: Do I really need a papaya kiwi strawberry tropical fruit cup on a blustery winter day — or ever — in New York, Chicago, or DC? Not to mention you’re paying at least 6 bucks for a few ounces of bland soggy fruit that was picked green last month and spent three weeks on a diesel-guzzling truck. I’ve only mentioned a few ways our addiction to instant gratification is. There are many more.
OK, sure, easy for me to say, right? I live on a farm in a subtropical rain forest. I have fresh papaya growing outside my kitchen. Well, self-ecorighteousness isn’t my jam, and this street goes both ways. Do you know how much I would love a crisp Granny Smith Apple, a Georgia peach, a juicy pear? A lot. But I don’t eat them anymore because they don’t grow here and that’s OK with me. We do have apples from Chile, expensive, mealy, and tasteless — just like that Costa Rican papaya from Costco. But if you can get amazing Honeycrisps from Virginia, are you really suffering without the bland-tasting papaya?
I’m not even getting into farmers markets and CSAs yet. We’re starting at the grocery store. To make money, supermarkets still have to meet the demands of consumers. Clamor for it! Make a scene! Demand more fresh regionally grown food and you’ll get it.
I’m not saying give up everything you like. But maybe there’s a lot of regionally grown food out there you would like if you tried it. Persimmons. Quince. Rutabagas! Find out, it’s actually really fun and enlightening.
And I’m not not saying to never eat an imported food. I better not, I export cacao! What I’m proposing is a more balanced, mindful, health-giving, less destructive way of eating that centers on the bigger backyard of your region.
Helpful, practical tips
Find out what grows in your region. It’s not difficult. The good folks over at Mother Earth News, a mainstay resource for living closer to the earth, have done an excellent job for you. Simply go to their site and in the search bar type “foods that grow in {your region}” — Mother Earth is oriented to gardening so it will give you a nice list of foods you can grow wherever you live. But don’t fret if you don’t garden. This list can do very well as your shopping list. Take a screenshot and refer to it when you're browsing the produce section.
Pay attention to what is abundant, fresh, and priced lower. Supermarkets have costs, and they pay less for June strawberries from New Jersey than December strawberries from México. Buy what is in season, savor it, and if you want strawberries in December, make jam in June.
Patronize local farmer’s markets and/or sign up for a CSA. It’s a no-brainer, really. A farmer who comes down to DC or Baltimore from Frederick, Maryland isn’t going to have pineapples. But he will have the most delectable raspberries in spring, the most fragrant basil in summer, and the sweetest delicata squash in the fall. There’s nothing wrong with indulgence in season.
Recipes are guides, not rulebooks. How many times have you gone shopping with some exotic recipe in hand, scoured at least three stores looking for all the ingredients, spent way too much time and money, and for what? Be creative. Improvise. Putting meals together involves mixing ingredients from categories of items that easily substitute one another. If the recipe says purple Thai hot peppers and you have a little container growing jalapeños at home or the corner Latin market has chilies, they will work fine. Can’t find bok choy? Napa cabbage or chard is just as good. No radicchio? Try endive or escarole. Shallots for onion and vice versa.
Listen to your body. Yes, just like when you do yoga. If you get a hankering for fresh-baked apple pie or hot cider in October, go for it. Your body knows when apples are in season and your nose knows that cinnamon and cloves will help your digestion and warm your blood. How about a hearty kale minestrone in the dead of winter? And nothing tastes better than a refreshing slice of melon on a hot summer day — but why does eating melon leave you feeling bloated and gassy in January? Hmm. Because it’s totally out of season, because it was harvested hard as a rock 3,000 miles away, and because never really ripened are the answers you’re looking for. The fact is eating regionally grown seasonal foods isn’t only better for the planet and other people, it’s better for you — ripe produce has a higher nutrient content.
Still not sure what to do? Here's my fail-safe beginners guide to foods for seasonal eating. Extra bonus if you can find them grown locally.
Spring (March through early June)
Asparagus
Brussels sprouts
Baby spinach
Mesclun or other tender greens
Dandelion
Scallions
Radishes
Peas
Perennial herbs like rosemary, mint, and thyme coming back after the winter
"Overwinter" roots like turnips, rutabagas, and yellow beets. These are really late fall foods but they often over-winter and farmers/gardeners will unearth a spring bumper crop
Strawberries
Red raspberries
Peaches
Apricots
Summer (mid June-early September)
Lettuces *these will wilt in very hot weather, so it depends on your region.
Tomatoes
Cucumbers (hey, salad anyone?)
Eggplant
Basil
Oregano
Onions
Okra
Bok choy, Napa cabbage
Zucchini
Early sweet corn
Tender green and yellow string beans
Melons
Blueberries
Blackberries
Figs
Quince
Kumquat
Fall (mid September-early November)
Hardy greens: kale, mustard, chard, collards
Bitter greens: endive, escarole, radicchio
Scarlet runner beans, kidney beans, chick peas, lentils
Potatoes
Sweet potatoes and yams
Corn
Onions
Red beets
Cabbage
Broccoli
Cauliflower
All hard sweet squash varieties: acorn, butternut, delicata, kabocha, pumpkin. Every region has its specialty. When it comes to squash, local is infinitely better
Apples
Pears
Persimmons
Winter (late November-late February)
*Depending on your region and last frost date, there are foods that can be harvested in winter, even in a light frost. Not surprisingly, they are best roasted, stewed, or made into soups.
Red kale
Collard greens
Hearty roots: turnips, rutabagas, swedes
Citrus fruit (in the southeast and southern west coast)
The best way to fortify yourself with regionally grown goodness in the winter is to pickle and preserve what grows in abundance at other times of the year. Preserving food with sugar, salt, vinegar, and fermentation is a wonderful practice and could become a necessary skill. It’s also fun, easy, and a great project to do with the kids. I’ll share much more about "putting up" your fruits and veggies in coming weeks, but if you're curious, here’s a short video from my kitchen to get you started.
Please ask questions or contribute any seasonal foods I missed — I’m sure there are many! In the meantime, here’s to shopping, cooking, and eating better for ourselves, people and our planet.
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At Sueño de Vida we work in a meaningful way to heal land ravaged by deforestation. How meaningful? According to a recent UN Foresight Brief on climate change,
--It is of the utmost importance to stop deforestation and to increase reforestation efforts around the world. Agricultural practices should focus on soil building, year-round soil cover with plants and the use of agroforestry methods.
That is exactly what we do here at SdV. You can help by helping us do what we do every day: plant forests that nurture soil, people, and community.
Click HERE to donate directly to our reforestation fund OR make a monthly pledge on our Patreon.
Thank you.
Kristen Krash is the director and co-founder of Sueño de Vida, a regenerative agroforestry farm, education center, nature reserve in Ecuador’s Chocó Andino Cloudforest. Prior to moving, Kristen was known for her guerrilla gardens — productive green spaces she created in any available space. Now an urban transplant in the South American rain forest, she has adapted her urban gardening and sustainability skills to large-scale reforestation of degraded land. She takes a practical and accessible approach to helping others achieve more balance and self-sufficiency in their lives.
Kristen’s articles and interviews have been featured on popular sustainability platforms like Abundant Edge and The Mud Home, and in the Rainforest Regeneration Curriculum at the Ecological Restoration Camps.
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