Am I the only localvore out there?

One thing I've been thinking about for a while is the importance of support and community on the part of local eating. Most of the people that I have read about (No Impact Man, Barbara Kingsolver) all do their local eating together with their families. I've met some of my farmers, and I've plowed through the social norms of eating, but I feel I'm lacking the connection to others that are as passionate about their beliefs. I can't imagine I'm the only one in boston interested in local food. I bet even some of the people around me would like to eat some local food, but haven't made the steps or don't know where to begin. While my 60 days of local eating was extreme, it can even be little steps and small choices, it doesn't have to be an all or nothing. So I want to invite anyone interested in learning how to find local food, cook it, or even just eat it to join forces and come together. Call me! Email me! jduncan802@gmail.com I don't know if anyone still reads this, but I know its hard to do it on your own, so why not do it together! Let me know!

Post-Local

Its been about three weeks since my 60 days of strict local eating has ended. I've been having quite the love affair with non-local food, and i think its time to really think about what this means. In the reality of real life where I'm not bound by a set of rules, how do my beliefs and morals really play out? Well so far, not very well. I pretty much haven't eaten any local food since my 60 days ended. I have been regularly eating tortilla chips made in needham, because they are so good and easily found at various stores, but where the ingredients come from I don't know. I've switched back to organic milk that comes from wisconsin because it taste better to me, and i don't have to buy such a big container, and thus don't have to drink as much milk so fast because milk often gives me a stomach ache. But shouldn't local milk taste better? Perhaps organic local milk would taste the best. I don't know what it is but the crescent ridge milk i get at whole foods doesn't taste very great to me. Perhaps it has to do with that the milk is sourced from all around new england. Turns out its not that easy to find out exactly where your milk is coming from even if there is a location on the bottle, which is usually where its bottled. The best tasting local milk I have had comes from shaw dairy which is sold at the dairy bar in somerville. Honestly though I haven't been motivated to drive all the way to somerville for milk, when i can walk two block to whole foods. I think this also raises an interesting point of transportation of food on both end: farm to store, and consumer to store. the milk from whole foods traveled 1, 158 miles to the store and i walked two blocks to buy it. the milk from the dairy bar traveled 39 miles and i had to drive 8 miles round trip to buy it. Its clear that the consumer takes on extra energy costs (gas), time, and carbon emissions to be able to support a local business/farmer, and get a quality product. It seems that the biggest issue for the local movement is not a matter of convincing people its a good idea but making it accessible. If after going so extreme to as to eat local for 60 days, I won't even drive to somerville for milk, how could expect the average person would? Organic has caught on at most large shopping conglomerates, which is a start. Its true that organic is better than not, but while organic original signified the values of local - safeguarding
the ecological integrity of local bioregions; creating social justice and
equality for both growers and eaters; and cultivating whole, healthful
foods.- it now often usually points to industrial organic farming. Large scale organic doesn't use chemicals (at least not much), but it still grows large monocultures of single crops which drains the land of resources, is transported high distances, usually from central or south america as more of food is being imported for a cheaper price, where labor can be paid for less, and rhe food is picked unripe and ripened in a truck, and threatens to put local farmers who can't compete in scale out out of business. With organic being the 'big thing' these days many large businesses are jumping to put the cachet on their product. But is more the idea of organic that they are actually selling? Let think whole foods for a minute who really markets the whole idea of organic and local. But to actually distribute on such a high scale of whole foods, how could they buy produce from a small farmer? Real, "whole" foods cannot be shipped around the country. Michael Pollan makes a good point that how our food is grow is inseparable from how we distribute it, which is inseparable to how we eat it. Its a toss up, who 'should' bear the responsibility, the system or the consumer? I think at this point, the system leave it all up to the consumer. Its hard, and expensive, and time consuming to eat your beliefs, but in the end we are a consumer of our food.

normal eating?

Its been a week now since my two months of local eating has ended. I've had my indulgence, still enjoying it a bit, but I'm left wondering how to resolve going back to a "normal" eating. I've learned so much doing this project and really valued this experience, but as a busy college kid with still injured fingers, franticly trying to get ready for my senior show, I don't have the time or energy to put in to finding and preparing all my food the way i have been. Part of it is the time of year, winter farmers markets have ended, and the spring ones will start soon - access is hard right now. I really appreciate the option to be able to buy food while i'm out, particularly when i'm at school and hungry, I can buy a snack now. so thats really great. I appreciate fruit!!! besides apples i didn't have any fruit. a diversity of vegetables. its funny though, i bought corn on the cobb for our bbq last night well knowing that corn is not in season and that it was from florida, and let me just say it was a sad piece of corn. limp, scrawny, flavorless. sort of similarly, i had my favorite ben and jerry flavor (magic brownies) and i'll be honest it didn't taste as good as i remembered, which was shocking because ben and jerry's is my thing. I had a burger and shake from u burger and felt terribly sick. I don't think I can drink milkshakes anymore, also shocking as its one of my favorite treats. Such intense dairy and sugar don't seem to agree with me anymore. I've also noticed i get full much more easily since doing my project. I'm satisfied by smaller portions than i used to. I find when i get a sandwich i can eat only half, and then the other half a few hours later. Its probably a good thing. I think its interesting to think about the over eating of americans, how it just feels normal and how its possible for your body to adjust to healthier portions instead of feeling deprived. Back to my original question, how do i reconcile my beliefs and my eating now in more real life situation without the extreme rules? The project certainly has changed me. Not in an eating disorder way, but i think about everything i eat, in terms of where its come from, how its grown or eaten. Do i want chicken in my pad thai if i can probably guess that it was raised with no room to move, its beak cut off, never seen the light of day, and pumped growth hormones to the point that its breasts were so big? or do i want to support the genetic modification of soy and gene patenting that is allowing large seed companies like monsanto to sue farmers who's crops have been pollinated by their geneticly modified seeds when there's no way to control pollination if i order tofu? like plato's cave, you can't go back to ignorance. i can't help but think about everything i eat, which can be overwhelming sometimes but ultimately part of the experience i wanted to gain from my project. one may think that one person can't make a difference but really we are the consumers of our food and we make the choice everytime we buy and then eat food. the food system is an economy, and every dollar goes somewhere. vote with your fork, eat your values. think about it. what you buy and eat is a direct action that has the potential to be farm more effect than talk or preaching ever will. If you don't like the system, don't participate in it. of course its easier said than done, but even small actions or changing part of your diet is profound. it doesn't have to an all or nothing kind of thing, but i think it really empowering to be able to have such direct choice and control over the issue of food that when thats not the case in many other political issues such as education or health care. the more people support local agriculture economy, the more it will respond with access and options. personal action really is how our food system will change. just think about it. :-)

p.s. my aesthetic manifestation of the project will be going up as an exhibition on sunday at 601 newbury, with an opening reception friday april 16th 6-8!

So i've been living the non-local life pretty well now, eating out every meal and indulging in every way. the result? gained 3 pounds in 4 days, and i feel like crap. I went with friends to Uburger, and while it was all tasty and good i felt terrible after. i couldn't even make it through more than a 1/4 of my shake, and i LOVE shakes. my stomach hurt after, i felt really lathergic for hours, and grouchy.

basically its time to for me get back to more whole foods and veggies. I even feel sick the morning after. I gotta get back to healthy eating before i get used to feeling like crap again! i haven't run since i hurt my fingers two weeks, so its off for a jog and a tasty salad for me today!

popping champagne from Jena Duncan on Vimeo.

3 days post local

So its a bit late but i thought i would let you know how life has been since my local eating challenge ended on thursday and ive been assimilating back into food culture. let me just say its ben great. it feels so freeing, and eating has become so fun! i haven't cooked anything, which has been relaxing. Every meal feels like a spontaneous adventure. I haven't had to worry about planning out my meals which has been nice. and COFFEE!! i may have not been perfect about the 100 miles but i didn't drink any coffee for the whole 60 days, not even a sip. so naturally ive been indulging in lots of coffee, and getting all sorts of buzzed in a way i never used to. sort of annoying actually! not a great feeling to have become so sensitive to coffee. my stomach hasn't loved much of what i've been eating (particularly ice cream?) but i haven't exactly eased in. here's what i've been eating the last few days :-)

lots of iced coffee with cream (i usually do milk or soy milk, but livin' life) donuts, lobster roll, milkshake, crackers, cheeseburger, asparagus (out of season and hard but AWESOME), fries, ben and jerry's (even being my favorite flavor, it didn't taste as good as i remembered...) pretzels, hot dog, pizza, eggs benedict with smoked salmon and spinach, mussels, emack and bolios ice cream, and a few bites of mac n cheese.

so yeah its been good. even though i've been eating sort of indulgently, i really can't eat as much as i used to (in general, not just treats) and i definitely eat smaller (healthy) sized portions now. my body is craving veggies. ive been having stomach aches. i need to go grocery shopping and get back to normal(ish) eating.

I have videos over due to show, and some recipes from a cook book i'm making, along with a map to share. The work I am making about this experience will be on exhibition at 601 newbury st. april 12-17th with and opening reception on april 16th 6-8. it will be fabulous. come share free champagne and wine with us. you might even get to see me making cheese and sample some if you're lucky!

best

Food Wrap Up!!

Thursday-

Brunch: Omelette with salsa (Concord, MA - 21.4 miles) and cheese (Providence, RI - 49.6 miles) (eggs -Elizaville, NY - 165 miles)

Dinner: Tempeh (Somerville, MA - 5 miles) with melted cheese (Providence, RI - 49.6 miles)

Late night: Bravo Pizza (after midnight so totally legit!)

Drinks: Narragansett (Providence, RI - 49.6 miles) and champagne at midnight!

Wednesday-

Breakfast: Eggs (Elizaville, NY - 165 miles)

Snack: tortilla chips (Needham Heights, MA - 5.6 miles)

Dinner: Tempeh (Somerville, MA - 5 miles) Potatoes (Starksboro, VT - 13.5 miles from Bristol, VT 228 from boston) and Parsnips from Burlington, Vt - 22.1 miles from bristol, VT 223 from boston

Drinks: UFO White

Last day, (yesterday!)

Last Day! from Jena Duncan on Vimeo.