Eating Local: Reconnecting to Food
By Nic, core team member
Food nourishes us and forms the heart of our community. Understanding where it comes from, how it is grown, and who has grown it helps us value our food in a way that we have lost in the modern era. We can get overwhelmed by the challenges of the modern world and food can provide us with some of the easiest and most accessible ways that we can begin to regenerate our planet.
Pejibaye: One of the delicious, nutritious and locally available staple tree crops
Since the agricultural revolution, our communities have been molded by the food we produce. Thriving when abundant and starving when scarce. The quest to guarantee our food security has led to mass population movements, wars, terrible famines and giant metropolises. But as we stand on the edge of environmental catastrophe, does it also hold the key to our own redemption? Does revisiting and re-valuing what has become just another commodity on the store shelf give us the opportunity to take back the power that we have given up with our disassociation from our food production and provide real tangible solutions to the current climate crisis? In Paul Hawken’s excellent book Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming, 2 of the top 3 solutions are food based (reducing food waste and eating a plant based diet). Each one is totally achievable on an individual level and something that we must demand on a wider commercial and political level.
Working at the Ranch people often ask me what they can do to be more sustainable or environmentally friendly when they return home. This is a question that I could answer in any number of ways. The answer that is the easiest and most accessible is to simply “eat local”. This is by no means the only answer, but today I am going to discuss just this one, simple act. that could help us move to larger changes for our climate and population.
Eat Local
Nelson holding a giant squash he grew for us.
Since the early days of the Ranch, local foods have been a cornerstone of our cuisine. One of our goals is to create an easy market where local producers can sell their products. Not only does this reduce the carbon footprint of our meals, it helps to ensure that this region’s farmers continue to grow food. Unfortunately, people worldwide are moving to urban areas and abandoning the farming practices of their parents. Essentially, by buying whatever is brought to our door, we are saying to the local community; “if you produce it, we will buy it.” We want to let them know that we value their products and are committed to work with them to maintain the food security of our region. After 20 years we continue to buy from many of same producers. This results in delicious, locally grown food for our table, while providing an essential income to numerous households in our community.
Over the years the Ranch has produced increasing amounts of its own food as our agroforestry systems have matured and our understanding of tropical agriculture has evolved. We serve over 20,000 meals yearly with about 90% of our calories coming directly from the Ranch, the community of Mastatal, or the local area (within a 20 km radius from the Ranch). We are fortunate to still enjoy food security regionally. We purchase the following directly from the producers themselves: milk, eggs, cheese, sour cream, tapa dulce (unrefined sugar cane), coffee, corn, beans, rice, squash, yucca, plantains, avocados, chicken, pork, lard, peach palm, citrus, papaya, pineapple, citrus, mango, palm heart, lettuce and chocolate. We have created a diverse and delicious menu based on what we can either grow or buy from our friends and neighbors. We have taken the cuisine of the “ticas” and tweaked it a bit while adding an international flare.
One of our indulgences: wheat based pizza party!
This transition to eating a local based diet has taken some adjustments. As Westerners, our diet is heavily dominated by wheat products. Wheat comes in the form of cereal for breakfast, bread in a sandwich for lunch and pasta for dinner. Wheat is by far the most heavily consumed grain in the western world. After moving to Central America we needed to adapt to a new food culture full of new ingredients and tropical comestibles. We look to the wonderful traditions of our region and Asia to inspire our new diet and to create new and wonderful food that is based on locally available ingredients. We are not purists however, and of course we love to have a pizza party every now and again, but we have spent much time experimenting with wheat free, local doughs (read about our Permaculture pizza quest).
Why is eating local so important?
There are many pieces that make eating local such powerful change. I think one of the most appealing is that it is relatively easy to do, it is not really much of an inconvenience and does not require huge changes to your lifestyle. What follows are some of the reasons I believe eating local to be important.
Local Economy
By creating a market for local producers to sell their agricultural products we are supporting the local economy. This happens on many levels that are all intertwined. Firstly, you are valuing agricultural products that people know how to grow successfully. This means that farmers in our region can continue to do what they know how to do and are not forced from their land to cities to find other work. Secondly, they can get a much better price selling their products direct to the consumer as this removes the middle man (the supermarket) from the equation. When you buy a $3 head of lettuce, how much of that do you think goes to the farmer and how much goes to the supermarket? Thirdly, it keeps the money in town. By keeping transactions local the money tends to stay in our community, creating a circular economy that can support more than just the farmer. In this scenario the farmer can now buy products from other local people who can develop businesses that further support the community that in turns creates more economy!
We have been purchasing local eggs for Doña Flor for as long as I can remember.
Transportation and Carbon Footprint
This may seem obvious, but by buying local food you are reducing the carbon footprint and the transportation inputs that are associated with that food product. Unfortunately, in our globalized world, many of our products are shipped all over the world before making it to the final consumer. This is not just true of food, but also of many consumer goods. Cotton is often grown in the US and then exported to a country with a cheap labor force and poor working conditions so that it can be fabricated into a t-shirt, only to be shipped back to the US to be sold in the US market! Isn’t that crazy? If we buy our food from a local farmer then we know where it has come from and we know that the transportation of that food is minimized.
Fresh Food
Farm fresh: these bananas are simply delicious, ripening naturally.
By reducing transportation, you also increase freshness! Did you know that the majority of fruits are shipped when they are still unripe in order to reduce damage during shipping? The banana is a classic example. When the banana arrives to its destination it is gassed with a chemical that induces the fruit to turn ripe so that it can be sold at the market. This effects freshness and flavor massively, not only because these commercial fruit varieties have been selected for good shipping quality rather than taste, but also because when the banana ripens like this it tastes totally different. I have eaten many supermarket bananas and after now living in the tropics can confidently say that they’re weird. They never hover in the perfect ripe zone like a farm fresh banana does, and it goes straight from green to brown and bad tasting. A banana that is harvested freshly and allowed to ripen naturally has a far superior flavor and hovers in that perfect zone of ripeness for many days.
Developing Relationships
By interacting directly with your farmer you can have your say about what is grown and how it’s grown,. You can visit their farm and see for yourself the practices that they use. This is a powerful tool as there are many misunderstandings as to how food is grown and where it comes from. This can only be reconciled through personal experience and empathy. Maybe you really love blueberries, but the organic type only come from far away, whereas all the local blueberries are not organic. Why might that be? Maybe this is worth further investigation that developing a relationship with some local berry farmers might shed some light on. Maybe this will lead you to understanding something that you didn’t know about berry farming in your area, or maybe it won’t, but you won’t know until you investigate!
Creating Community
Our globalized world has broken up small communities where everyone traditionally knew one another. It is not uncommon now to not know your neighbors or the people who live on the same street as you. This has broken down the fabric of our communities and our relationships with one another. It is up to us to rebuild those relationships and it is going to require time and effort. A great place to start is with your food choices. If you can buy food directly from farmers then you can begin to create that direct relationship with your food and the land that grows it. Maybe it will be with a local butcher, or a local shop, where you get to know the person or people who are selling the food. Once you have formed this relationship you can cultivate a mutual understanding of what you are looking for in your food. You will begin to see the same people also shopping in these places and this is the way that we can begin to cultivate community for ourselves in urban and rural environments. Another fantastic place to develop community is at your community gardens, “pea patches” or allotments. Food is so fundamental to us as humans that communities based around food are incredibly powerful and resilient.
Connection to Place
The average American moves 12 times in their lifetime. This is a long way from our lives just 100 years ago when most people grew up and died in the same house or the same town. By moving so frequently we lose our connection to place. Our homes, our food, our street are just commodities to be bought and sold. This loss of connection to our local environment creates a disconnect between our realities of the world and the limitations of our land. Avocados, believe it or not, are not in season all year round. You wouldn’t know it by going to the store though, as they are pretty much available all year round. In fact most food products are available all year round and we don’t even think about it. By eating locally you are by default also eating seasonally and this will allow you to truly connect to your place and environment, deepening your connection to the land and local climate.
Lights on in the food smithy!
How Can I Eat Local?
What follows are some of the simplest and most accessible ways that we can begin the transition to eating local.
Farmer Markets
In most urban centers now there are farmers’ markets. Usually they take place just a day or two a week so you might need to schedule time to go to these markets when they are open. Here you should be able to find local, seasonal and fresh food.
Directly from Farmers
If you live in a rural area it is likely that you have farmers all around you. You can approach them directly, ask them what they are cultivating and see if they already have a farm stand or go to farmers’ market on certain days. This is an opportunity to get know your neighbors! If you live in an urban center, check out if there is some innovative commercial urban or city farm that is selling their produce.
Tapa Dulce: locally sourced sugar - purchased directly from the local farmers
Grow your Own
Depending where you are, this could be on your balcony, at a community garden or in your yard! The scale of your new garden will have to be proportional to your available space and your time. Growing herbs on your window sill is a great place to start!
Local Business
Try and buy as much as you can from local business rather than going to a supermarket. It is not always cheaper from the supermarket and the quality and freshness can vary massively.
CSA or Veggie Box
If you can’t find a farmers’ market you could look into a veggie box or CSA (community supported agriculture). These are great ways to directly support farmers and you can often get the food delivered or pick it up close to your house to make it more convenient.
Farm to Table
Lastly, where do you choose to eat out? It might be worth exploring a local farm-to-table restaurant and make that your special treat for birthdays or special occasions.
Farm to Table meal at the Ranch, green banana chips, pejibaye dip, starfruit pickles and jackfruit salsa….Yummy!
I hope this has inspired you to think about your food and where it comes from and how to incorporate more locally available foods into your diet. Next time you see a farm stand, stop, buy your weekly fruits and veggies from there, and skip the supermarket. It wasn’t long ago when we all had a hand in the food we ate. To think about the separation that the majority of the world has from food now is astounding. So, plant something whether it’s big or small, find out where the nearest farms are to you, and change your diet to eat locally available products. I bet you’ll enjoy fresher, more delicious food and make a few connections along the way.