Hmmm. A dilemma… I live in the Upper Midwest and winters are harsh. And long. And very, very cold. So there’s always been a question in the back of my mind (and the front of my mother’s): Is an 100-mile diet sustainable in an area where six month winters are the norm?
Perhaps we have been spoiled by the availability of fresh food shipped in from warmer climes during the winter months. Or perhaps we just haven’t figured out a way to grow it ourselves.
Maybe our dependence on only a few dozen of the 7,000+ edible plant species worldwide hinders our ability to use diversity as our culinary ally.
I did a research project on a local pioneer who was an experimental farmer, and whose farm served as a northerly experimental station for the state horitcultural society. He grew all sorts of things unheard of in the region, like blackberries, blueberries, cherries, and lots and lots of apples. He got me to thinking. Maybe we’ve forgotten what we can grow, given the right mix of hardiness and native stock. Maybe by creating microclimates, we can grow more produce on a small scale than large scale ever imagined possible. Maybe by including more native plants in our diet, we can make strange foods from warmer climes rare delicacies, instead of necessities. Maybe we’ll find native foods more delicious than those tasteless things bred to be shipped and stored and imported from far away.
Some people seem to think that quality, fresh, diverse food is the realm of snobbish foodies who live in California. What they forget is that other nations around the world, particularly in Europe, view quality, fresh, diverse food as a right, a necessity, a heritage. France in particular is viewed as obsessed with food, but over there they simply enjoy it. Food is a part of life. And each province and region has its own type: champagne is from the Champagne region, nowhere else, and salad Nicoise comes from Nice. This is, after all, the nation who famously (or perhaps infamously) has over 400 different types of cheese.
Perhaps the U.S. (best known for hamburgers, pizza, and apple pie; German, Neapolitan, and Dutch imports respectively) would do well to follow suit. After all, our nation encompasses some of the most diverse biomes in the world. Shouldn’t we have foods and fruits and veggies specific to states or cities? American cuisine, already diverse from ethnic and immigrant influence, would become even more so. Can you imagine? Minneapolitan wine? Iowan casserole? Or better yet, fresh fruits and veggies as they were in the old days: heirlooms that differ from every other in every city, county, and state.
Without having to ship things halfway around the world, can you imagine the taste that would result? Fruits picked at the peak of ripeness, instead of ripening in the grocery store? Or greens so fresh they retain all of their nutrients, instead of slowly wilting in a plastic bag?
Hmm. I muse and wish. Perhaps I’d do well to learn more about prairie edibles beyond rhubarb, rosehips, and chokecherries. *smile*
*sigh* And now I’m hungry…
Hi there
I htought you might be interested in our blog about trying a 100 mile diet in london.
We do have a good climate for variety and (ever-shorter) short winters. But what you say about micro-production is very interesting. I am eating a lot of foods I would never normally get – because I need to get whatever variety i can. Like Whelks for example.
I;m discovering a lot and getting really into growing my own food, in little containers – I only have a tiny yard – and even that is a luxury in london!
Sarah