Like this:

I recently subscribed to Netflix and have been checking out some of the “watch it now” selections. I watched the entire first season of Party Down, which was hilarious (thanks for the suggestion, Lauren!). Nick and I watched an A&E show about the Hearst Castle, which we visited on our honeymoon. We also watched two food related movies, No Impact Man and Food, Inc. These two movies got me thinking about food even more than usual, and that’s saying something.

Eastern Washington Apples

Ever since we moved to Seattle I have been learning more and more about the importance of eating locally. Having access to fresh local fruits and veggies has vastly improved my health. The farmers markets, grocery stores, and even the restaurants in Seattle offer mostly local, seasonal menus year round, so I’m never stuck with a salad consisting of bagged lettuce that has already turned limp and brown after traveling thousands of miles. Several times I’ve purchased veggies at Pike Place Market, a few blocks from my apartment, and the farmer said to me “It’s great, isn’t it? It looked so wonderful when we pulled it up this morning.”

After watching Food, Inc. last night, Nick and I did some quick research on the sources of the food currently in our apartment. Many of the veggies are from Washington, but a lot of things are also from California, some things like citrus fruit just don’t grow in Washington, and other things (like Washington asparagus!!!) are just not ripe yet.

Here’s a list of some of the things currently stocking the fridge/pantry:
This list is not comprehensive, though it does include most of the items in the fridge, along with a few other things we thought to look up last night.

• Alfalfa Sprouts from Kent, Washington.
• Almond Milk, by Almond Breeze, which is owned by Blue Diamond – an almond growers cooperative in California.
• Apples from Eastern Washington.
• Bananas – perhaps the worse offender – are from Ecuador.
• Cream Cheese by Philadelphia – owned by Kraft. I feel super guilty about this one because the other brand of cream cheese that I often purchase is Western Family which is based in Portland, Oregon and sources its ingredients from small local farms. I will always buy Western Family Cream Cheese in the future.
• English Muffins from Franz Bakery based in Seattle.
• Garlic from California.
• Lemons from California.
• Milk by Darigold, from Washington. Darigold is an agricultural cooperative owned by over 500 farmers in Washington State.
• Mushrooms from Washington.
• Onions from Walla Walla, Washington.
• Peanut Butter from Tacoma, Washington. I love Adams Peanut Butter because of the ingredients list on the jar: “Ingredients: Peanuts.” (OK, so Adams was bought by Smuckers, but the original company is from Tacoma, and you gotta love that ingredients list!)
• Pineapple from Hawaii – OK, this is kinda far, but it’s probably one of the closest sources of Pineapple.
• Rhubarb from Fife, Washington – about 30 miles south of Seattle.
• Strawberries from California. (Strawberries+Rhubarb made an excellent pie last night!)
• Yogurt by Tillamook, an agricultural cooperative smaller than Darigold and based in Oregon.

Rhubarb seen from the Amtrak Window between Seattle and Tacoma in May 2009

Of course I’m not including things like coffee, sugar, flour, etc which come from far far away, I’m focusing more on the perishable foods for the purposes of eating locally to improve health. I think our apartment is stocked with reasonably local foods, but I also think there is some room for improvement. Either way, it is light years ahead of the way I used to eat.

I feel like my diet is already pretty healthy, and I’m not ready to make any statement about huge changes for the future, but I am thinking about eating local and about the differences between small local farms and huge industrial companies.

Advertisement