SeeingGreen (TM)

While recently preparing black bean and brown rice burrito #3,261, I came across three simple words that changed things in my household in a significant way. These words have appeared on other items before, such as garments and electronics, but until now I had never seen the dreaded expression on the food that sustains me. There, on the lid of organic black beans from Trader Joe’s, was a stamp. It read, “Product of China.”

I’ve probably opened several hundred of these cans before and either never noticed it or perhaps this was something new. It didn’t matter though. I could no longer purchase these beans in good conscience, even though a comparable can of beans costs at least fifty cents more at other stores. Never mind the fact that I know that canned items are not as nutritious or fresh. I have enjoyed the convenience and affordability of these black beans for years, but now there is no turning back.

Before this incident, I’d been vaguely aware of the idea of the 100-mile diet, most recently popularized by a couple from Vancouver BC who lived for one year on what was grown and processed within this limited radius. Although this concept would be a joke to our ancestors (who probably lived, in many cases, on a 30-mile diet), our ever-increasing globalized world means here I was in Oregon eating food grown 6,000 miles away.

But no longer. Instead Co-pilot brought out the pressure cooker and has committed to turning dried beans into edible morsels once a week. I started researching where our other food comes from. For example, the eggs we whip up on the weekends came from California. Sure that’s not China, but I was certain we could find something closer. After calling several farms and realizing that I didn’t want to drive to a drop-off location, I did find a reliable source of locally-laid organic eggs in my regular grocery store, an easy walk away. Distance from farm to omelet? 97-miles.

Now that we’ve got the eggs pinned down and with the growing season on its way, we’ve started to investigate alternatives for other staples in our cupboard, including flour and rice. This task hasn’t been nearly as easy as I thought it would be. Search engines aren’t the best place to find where food is grown (I imagine farmers are busy enough without worrying about updating a website). But in the meantime, I am starting to learn more about my food shed and enjoying getting to know the place that can (and does) sustain me. I’ll keep you posted.