In Search of the Wild Locavore - Eating Locally

Locavore - Oxford Word Of The Year 2007 - coined two years ago by a group of four women in San Francisco who believed that local residents should try to eat only food grown or produced within a 100-mile radius.

I have just recently discovered (thanks to Progressive Alaska) the ADN-affiliated blog "AK Root Cellar". Their latest post announced that Saturday was the first Farmer's Market of the season. I was so happy to find that I now have a place to go for information. In past years, it was difficult to know the correct number or who had the latest-best information on the Farmer's Market. Everyone kept trying to point me to the Saturday Market, which is NOT where I generally go. (They make a ton of money at that Market yet refuse to pay the musicians/performers...but that's another blog post.) I eventually find the right folks and made the Farmer's Market my weekly ritual. Alaska has wonderful vegetables and I look forward to them again.

I also read an excellent article there from April 30th, "Why Can't We Buy Local Meat in the Grocery Store?" It's an excellent post describing a tour of three ranches in the Valley that sell bison, elk, and grass-fed beef. Yet, because the State no longer employs a meat inspector, the only way Alaskans can enjoy that meat is to buy it "on-the-hoof" and get it slaughtered at the only USDA-approved facility (in Palmer). Once that is done, it is illegal to re-sell it.

Back in February, I posted the story about the 143 pounds of recalled beef and the hideous video of the cattle that were unable to stand properly (hint: symptom of Mad Cow) that were still going for slaughter and public consumption IN THE U.S.!!!

THIS ALONE should enrage people enough to make sure that Alaskans have safe meat and Alaskan ranchers have local places to sell it.

As stated in AK Root Cellar:

If we want access to local meat and can’t afford to buy a whole animal, we need to contact our local representatives. They need to sponsor a bill, on our behalf, requesting a re-opening of the position for state meat inspector housed within the Division of Ag. Re-creating this position would allow the state to re-invest our ranchers and would be supporting the development of our renewable resources.

Locate your Senators and State Representatives and contact them with this information. I'd send the info to the Governor as well. (I plan to, now that she knows me *cheesy grin*) I would think this is an excellent expenditure of any extra oil money Alaska is receiving.

********UPDATE********

Snowshoe posted a comment on the AK Root Cellar "Local Meat" story after I was already working on this post:

A more logical and economical method of getting a meat inspector onto the ranches around the state would be for the DEC to contract with local large animal veterinarians and pay the local vets to do the on-site inspections. The budget for one inspector, housed in Anchorage or Palmer, would be huge, just because of travel expenses.

The state and USDA/APHIS already contract our local vets to do BSE and CWD testing and the state vet has our local vets doing Johne's Disease testing and herd risk management. I don't think it would be too onerous to get our vets trained to be USDA certified meat inspectors. If someone thinks it would be a conflict of interest to have a vet who has a doctor/client relationship with a stockgrower do the inspections, the regs could stipulate that a vet who doesn't have a relationship with the stockgrower would have to do the inspections.

Anyway, we would *love* to be able to sell our grass fed, natural beef to people by-the-cut or by the freezer pack, and be able to market to local stores and restaurants. Current regs forbid that. Help us change the regs, so you can buy healthy, locally-grown food for your families!

-- from a member of the Fox River Cattlemen's Association

That proposal needs to go to the Governor.

*****************************

By the way, we do have a fledgling organization starting - the Last Frontier Locavores. I'm including them on my Alaska blog list and they could use lots of support. Perhaps we could get a year-round local grower program happening up here if enough of us support it!

Top Twelve Reasons to Eat Locally:

1) Freshness. Locally-grown organic fruits and vegetables are usually harvested within 24 hours of being purchased by the consumer. Produce from California can't be that fresh.

2) Taste. Produce picked and eaten at the height of freshness tastes better.

3) Nutrition. Nutritional value declines, often dramatically, as time passes after harvest. Because locally-grown produce is freshest, it is more nutritionally complete.

4) Purity. Eighty percent of American adults say they are concerned about the safety of the food they eat. They worry about residues of pesticides and fungicides. These materials are not permitted in an organic production system either before or after harvest.

5) Regional Economic Health. Buying locally grown food keeps money within the community. This contributes to the health of all sectors of the local economy, increasing the local quality of life.

6) Variety. Organic farmers selling locally are not limited to the few varieties that are bred for long distance shipping, high yields, and shelf life. Often they raise and sell wonderful unusual varieties you will never find on supermarket shelves.

7) Soil Stewardship. Soil health is essential for the survival of our species. Conventional farming practices are rapidly depleting topsoil fertility. Creating and sustaining soil fertility is the major objective for organic growers.

8) Energy Conservation. Buying locally grown organic foods decreases dependence on petroleum, a non- renewable energy source. One fifth of all petroleum now used in the United States is used in Agriculture. Organic production systems do not rely upon the input of petroleum derived fertilizers and pesticides and thus save energy at the farm. Buying from local producers conserves additional energy at the distribution level.

9) Environmental Protection. Soil erosion; pesticide contamination of soil, air, and water; nitrate loading of waterways and wells; and elimination of planetary biodiversity are some of the problems associated with today's predominate farming methods. Organic growers use practices that protect soil, air, and water resources; and that promote biodiversity.

10) Cost. Conventional food processes don't reflect the hidden costs of the environmental, health and social consequences of predominate production practices- of, for instance, correcting a water supply polluted by agricultural runoff, or obtaining medical treatment for pesticide induced illness suffered by farmers or consumers. When these and other hidden costs are taken into account, as they should be, locally grown organic foods are seen clearly for the value they are, even if they cost a few pennies more.

11) A Step Toward Regional Food Self Reliance. Dependency on far away food sources leaves a region vulnerable to supply disruptions, and removes any real accountability of producer to consumer. It also tends to promote larger, less diversified farms that hurt both the environment and local economies/communities. Regional food production systems, on the other hand, keep the food supply in the hands of many, providing interesting job and self-employment opportunities, and enabling people to influence how their food is grown.

12) Passing on the Stewardship Ethic. When you buy locally produced organic food you cannot help but raise the consciousness of your friends and family about how food buying decisions can make a difference in your life and the life of your community; and about how this basic act is connected to planetary issues.