Compassionate Eating: My life as a locavore

As I mentioned in my review of The Compassionate Carnivore, I enjoy a good steak. Now that’s not to say that every meal I eat has to contain some sort of meat product, and in fact, about a year ago I moved to cut back on the amount of meat my family and I eat to one meat meal a day (with smaller portions of meat) with two or three total vegetarian days each week. Last April, I made the decision to get our beef and chicken exclusively from a small, local farms (i.e., the farmers’ market) instead of King Soopers or Costco (or even Whole Foods), deciding that I was no longer going to opt-in to supporting the factory farm model of meat production. The Compassionate Carnivore has strengthened my resolve to the extent that now, when I go out to eat, if I can’t be sure of the source of the meat, I’m going to eat vegetarian. I really just can’t bring myself to eat factory farmed meat anymore. (Of course, thanks to my determination to avoid high fructose corn syrup, GMO’s and trans fats, my options are even fewer, but that’s a whole ‘nother conversation.) Fortunately I don’t have to. Within the past month I’ve found local and humane sources for beef, chicken, pork, lamb, and bison; even my eggs and milk come meet the standard of humane and local. The addition of meat to my locavore ways has been a recent and welcome addition to my diet. For the past few years, the only time I’ve purchased non-local produce has been when the farmers’ market has been closed for the season, or if I happen to get a particular craving for bananas, oranges, or some similar food that can’t be grown locally. There have even been increasing numbers of meals at my house that are 100% local; last week I made a stir fry that consisted 100% of ingredients from my local farmers’ market, and I washed it all down with raw milk from Windsor Dairy. (It was pretty tasty if I do say so myself.) Has this new and improved locavore lifestyle been a lot of work and effort? Oh yes, definitely. Making sure I could eat locally year round meant tracking down a farmer who offered a winter CSA as well as a steady meat supply. I’ve been able to set up a year round supply of meat, and I’m able to get fresh, local veggies for nine of 12 months; the only time I may end up having to rely on frozen or grocery store produce will be January-March, which isn’t so bad, and since things like bananas are in season then, I’m still able to eat seasonally if not locally. It also means that on those days when it’s pouring down rain (or snow), I still find my way to the market to get my groceries; as I told one farmer on a particularly cold and rainy Saturday a few weeks ago, “My determination to eat locally and support local farms overrides my common sense that tells me to hit a nice, dry, warm supermarket.” The result? My food tastes better and because it is more nutrient dense, I’m eating less (dieters take note!), and in many ways I feel a lot better. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that I know my food is also safer, and not subject to the whims of an ineffective FDA. One of my students recently asked me if the difference in taste and my health was simply psychological. Is that possible? Yes, but in the long run, does it matter if it’s “merely” psychological, or if it’s psychosomatic? The end result is the same, really, and as I’ve said before, living mindfully may not be convenient, but it is worth it. (With no argument from my kids… they are beginning to understand the issues more with every recall of food, toys, and other products.)

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Almost 12 full months of local food!

As I've mentioned in two previous posts, I've really been making a concerted effort to eat locally produced food instead of heading to the supermarket, regardless of which market it is. With the Boulder Farmers' Market coming to an end on November 1, I've been working hard to set things up for the months of November-March, and I've been successful in getting my meat and dairy set up, but my concern became veggies and fruit. Thanks to the Abbondanza farm, I now have the opportunity to continue eating local until the end of December. That means that I may end up only having to hit the grocery stores for produce during the months of January, February, and March (since I didn't get quite as much canned as I wanted to... bleah!)... not bad.

So what does this have to do with teaching? Well, one of the topics of the climbing team curriculum is food and nutrition. We typically spend a week talking about what we put in our bodies and why it is important, and the importance and advantages of eating locally produced food is a part of that conversation. Teaching our children to eat well or at least setting that example is important for any educator, regardless of subject area. Our students watch and listen to us more closely than we give them credit for sometimes, and so it is important to send that consistent, healthful message. With rising rates of obesity, cancer, and other illnesses, combined with rising fuel prices and the FDA's inability to protect our food supply, especially imported foods, eating locally produced food truly is a national issue, or perhaps it should be.

YES!!!

Well, it took some searching, but I've found a source for humanely and sustainably raised lamb, pork, and chicken. At first, I was going to go with Larga Vista Ranch outside of Pueblo for my pork, but cost was a bit of a factor; I'd have to buy 40 pounds of pork at a time, which would be fine and would be a good supply for a few months, but at $7/pound on average, that's $280 I'd have to pop down all at one shot. Ouch. After a bit more searching around, though, I found a place in Erie, just a short drive from home, where I can get my lamb, chicken, and pork (beef and bison is taken care of already, and while I'd love to go through Wisdom Natural Poultry for my chicken, it would mean taking a Tuesday off from time to time to get it, something I really don't want to do). I'm pretty excited about it, and I'm looking forward to stopping by there this weekend.

Sunday's adventure: peach jam

In my increasing desire to eat sustainably and locally year round, I’ve decided to learn how to preserve the food that I buy at my local farmers’ market: I’m going to teach myself how to can food. Having never done this before, I knew I needed help. First, I was off to my favorite independent bookseller and picked up a “how to” book. Then I bought the jars, and this week, I stopped by McGuckin’s Hardware in Boulder for the final purchase of “stuff." Today I bought peaches for my first attempt at this little epic: peach jam.

When I was growing up in rural northern NY state, “run downstairs to the basement and grab me a jar of [X]” was a common statement heard in my grandmother’s house to whoever happened to be in the kitchen at the time. Homemade pickles and jams were a staple of my childhood. She’s a good bit older now, and she stopped canning some years ago, so she’s thrilled that I’m reclaiming a bit of my “heritage.” The interesting thing about all of this is that the older I get, the closer I get to where I came from. Not in a geographic sense, but certainly in the sense that I am eating and living much like I did when I was younger, and not from some burning glow of nostalgia, but simply because it is better for me.

I sat down with the book today and realized that this is going to be a full day project, or close to it. It should be an interesting day. More photos and stories to come! :)