Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - Demo - (Page 9)

tomatoes than to buy them, but it’s worth it. It might be a day of work, but if you do it with a friend or family, it’s also a social activity. You think of it in a different way. The food has a story. You can remember that day in June when you picked strawberries with your friend, or the day you visited the farm, chatted with the farmer, and bought fresh eggs. All of a sudden food becomes personal. Eating this food is not a mechanical activity that you have to do three times a day. It’s enjoyable and it’s communal. The whole story plays out as you’re eating. What needs to change Often, people here have not heard of the varieties of seafood caught on our coast. Our shrimp are shipped to Asia while we eat Asian prawns. It’s really quite silly. California’s farm economy is based on export, as it is in most places in North America, so they export all of their strawberries in strawberry season. But that’s also when California imports the most strawberries—during their own strawberry season! It doesn’t make sense. Small farmers have told us that it’s really hard for them to sell their food to supermarkets because the distribution system, with all the trucks and warehouses, is set up for volume. There needs to be a change in how food gets to the marketplace. I’d like to see large supermarkets making more space for local foods. In England, the four largest chains are going to start labeling the distance food has traveled, and they’re going to be opening up sections in their produce departments for local foods, or at least allowing local farmers to sell their produce in the parking lots. I’d like to see more of that here. How our experiment traveled the world We’re hearing from kids who are doing this for school projects and encouraging (or forcing!) their families to do it. I’m really excited by that. The municipal government of Albany, New York, has organized a challenge for people in that city to eat locally. Kansas City, Missouri, has a 100-mile group that has March/April 2008 worked with local grocery stores to start labeling food miles. We’ve heard from people in Korea, some of whom visited us in Vancouver. Korea is entering a free-trade agreement with the United States, and some people are worried about the impact on traditional farming when American food products start showing up in their supermarkets. Similar issues come up around the globe. Regardless of where people live, the most important thing about the food system is that it be local first. Trade issues have to come second. Supporting the local economy is what’s best for people in every part of the world. Putting down roots, sending out shoots I’m a city girl. I had never even been to the farming regions around the city where I live. The biggest impact on me has come from connecting with the farmers, making friends with the people who grow my food, and feeling a part of a community. Our fisherman still phones us if he’s got some fresh chum salmon or some shrimp. People like him have become part of my life. When you’re spending all of your money within 100 miles, you’re supporting your neighbors. When we started this in 2005, we wondered if we were a little weird for doing it. But we started posting on a local website, thinking that it might be useful to share what we were learning. Before we knew it, we were hearing from people in England and beyond. In that way, we’ve become part of another community: people in 100-mile circles, all over the globe. i Learn more about Alisa, James, and the 100-mile diet at www.100milediet.org. imagine 9 http://www.100milediet.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - Demo

Imagine Magazine - March/April 2008 Contents Letters Big Problems Big Picture In My Own Words Putting E-Waste in Its Place Big Juice Making Waves What Does "Green" Mean? Into the Woods Swimming with Whale Sharks Crash Course in Costa Rica Selected Opportunities & Resources Hooked on Logistics Off the Shelf Word Wise Middle Ground One Step Ahead Exploring Career Options Planning Ahead for College Students Review Creative Minds Imagine Sudoku Knossos Games

Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - Demo

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