‘The 100-Mile Diet’ Published In Australia
“Is Hunger Really About Not Producing Enough Food?”
June 24, 2008An Eco-Alternative To Bottled Water
June 26, 2008In Processed Food And The 100 Mile Diet we gave a brief review of the 100-Mile Diet book by Canadians Alisa Smith and J B McKinnon. This book about a pair of Canadians ‘eating local’ for a year will be available in Australia on 1 July 2008.
For a Vancouver couple it all began with a ‘memorable feast’ when they became stranded in their off-the-grid summer cottage in the Canadian wilderness. They turned to the land around them, caught a trout, picked mushrooms in the forest, and mulled apples from an abandoned orchard with rose hips in wine. Every ingredient had a story, a direct line they could trace from the soil to their forks…was it possible to eat this way in their everyday lives?
The pair was stunned to find the average ingredient in the food they ate had travelled between 1500 and 3000 miles – leaving a carbon footprint big enough to stamp out all their efforts at living sustainably.
With no planning and very little thought of what might be involved they made a pact to only eat foods sourced within a 100 mile radius of their home for one year.
Some Comments
“Eating locally isn’t just a fad…it may be one of the most important ways we save ourselves and the planet.” David Suzuki
“Too bullheaded to stop and too honest to cheat…they write eloquently of their journey to food enlightenment…a compelling, relevant story without preaching or darkening our minds with guilt.” Vancouver Sun
9 Comments
good opn you!!!therre should be more of this
thanks
I would love to embark on this journey with anyone in Brisbane Australia. The idea of 100 mile (160km) diet sounds so joyfull to me! i do tend to buy from local organic farms, but have never considered doing a full diet. I will miss maple syrup! We must be the change we want to see in the world… and have friends over to cook while doing so!
Hello Clare from Brisbane…
I live in Redcliffe, just north of Brisbane, and would love to embark on this journey with you! My partner is a chef, and we would both be interested in being for sustainable. We buy local when we can, and would love to meet others that may have some ideas of how to do so.
anyone in adelaide interested in similar? you’re right clare, it does sound joyful!! would be particularly nice to have some other folks around to share the experience with 😀
Hello Chantel and Claire, I am also in Brisbane and try to shop locally. One of the places to go is the Northey Street Farm just north of the RBH. There is even a mousturiser called Vegesorb that was developed by an ex QUT student and produced in.. Redcliffe (tentativly) from memory. I’m still looking into the overall background. When I can’t go local I at least try Aust. which is very hard on a tight food budget. It’s amazing to look at generic brands and see that the canned tomatoes are from Italy and the potato in the frozen potato chips are from the Netherlands. We’re also talking to our local Green Grocer in Everton Park to see where he gets his stuff from. Perhaps if people pooled ideas here it would help?
How about the Blue Mountains. Hartley and Lithgow? We have an orchard and vegie garden that will soon be more than we need. Hilary and I are interested.
John
Hello Chantel and Erin,
I have not been on this blog for ages! If you are still interested in catching up for a meal, my email is c.cavanagh99@gmail.com
cheers
Clare
Reflecting on our local area, we are truely blessed to live in SEQ. I have decided that I can grow my own meat (Cousins farm), shop at Northy St for vegies, buy beer from NSW (James Squire)and my big indulgance is Maple Syrup.. all the way from Canada. I am applying the 9/10 rule here. Energy from local foods is more suited to our systems, on every level.