100-Mile Diet Having An Effect
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July 16, 2008Electric Car Tinkerers And Energy Resilience
July 21, 2008There seems to be a growing awareness of eating ‘sustainably’ ie foods from within 100 mile radius of your dining table. The 100 Mile Cafe in Melbourne – overlooking RMIT Uni is now one year old and seems to be doing well – had a lovely meal there Friday night.
A group of RMIT students from the Uni’s Industrial Design Program is are now working on a Locavore Project to do a guide and an online interactive map.
Dr Soumitri Varadajan – in charge of the RMIT project – has contacted PWF, happy to chat about the project, and listed the website as a resource for his students. PWF will certainly be following up this project. Soumitri cane be contacted on email, soumitri.varadarajan@rmit.edu.au, website http://campaignprojects.wordpress.com/ (Scroll down to ‘A Method For The Locavore Project’)
Clare and Chantel in Brisbane are both right behind the concept. Clare says:
“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.”
Let us know how you go Clare and Chantel?
Some Other Approaches
IN AUSTRALIA
Brisbane City Council is encouraging residents to grow their own food or buy local, seasonal produce to make Brisbane a more sustainable city. The move is part of the Council’s ‘I Love Brisbane’ CitySmart Campaign.
Lord Mayor Campbell Newman said the simple act of growing or buying local produce meant that residents were helping reduce carbon emissions from food miles—the distance that food has travelled from source to table.
“If one in four homes has a barbecue this Saturday, the food miles would be the equivalent of 3000 cars driving to Cairns and back—a typical barbecue with all the salads, meat and bread rolls produces around 13kg of carbon dioxide to reach a dinner table…
IN THE US
“Buy Fresh Buy Local is a National Initiative by FoodRoutes Network to promote locally grown foods. They have created partnerships with community-based nonprofit organizations across the country involved in nurturing strong regional markets for locally grown foods. Each organization is creating and implementing a “Buy Local” marketing campaign helps bridge gaps between community farmers and consumers.
The 10 founding organizations follow. They are dedicated to transforming the current food system into one that is sustainable and capable of serving future generations.
* Alternative Energy Resources Organization, Helena, MT
* Baton Rouge Economic and Agricultural Development Alliance, Baton Rouge, LA
* Community Alliance with Family Farmers, Santa Cruz, CA
* Eat Local Foods Coalition (Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association), Unity, ME
* Ecotrust, Portland, OR
* Land Stewardship Project, White Bear Lake, MN
* Michigan Integrated Food and Farming Systems, East Lansing, MI
* Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP) and their local food guide Buy Appalachian, Marshall, NC
* Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture, Millheim, PA
* Practical Farmers of Iowa, Ames, IAThe Buy Local campaigns have utilized lessons learned from the “Be a Local Hero, Buy Locally Grown” effort, supported by FoodRoutes Network and implemented by Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture, a nonprofit organization in Amherst, MA dedicated to sustaining agriculture in Western Massachusetts. In an independent evaluation, 78 percent of the area residents polled recalled the Local Hero campaign. Of those, 65 percent reported that the campaign influenced them to buy locally grown food. Further, 70 percent of participating farmers reported increased sales after the campaign began.
FoodRoutes Network was established in 1997 to foster and promote sustainable food systems in critical regions of the United States by using state-of-the-art communications techniques and public policy innovations. In 2000, FoodRoutes Network became a nonprofit, 501(c)3 organization focused on impacting the public policy arena, generating marketplace opportunities, and stimulating partnerships around sustainable food systems. In 2006, there are 19 groups nationwide participating in Buy Fresh Buy Local campaigns.
The FoodRoutes Find Good Food map can help you connect with local farmers and start eating the freshest, tastiest food around. Click here to find your local food on our interactive map, listing farmers, CSAs, and local markets near you.”
Surprising
It seems food transport is only one factor in greenhouse emissions—for example, greenhouse gases caused from transport account for less than 10 per cent of the carbon footprint for a packet of chips. Most of the greenhouse gas is actually emitted through the storage and cooking of the chips.
The most difficult aspect surely has to be the research aspect – how do you KNOW about the food before you buy?
2 Comments
Thanks for nice article!
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