The Accidental Consequences of Eating Local

I had an epiphany a couple of days ago. An uncomfortable one. Namely, that I care more about the environment in theory than in practice.

It dawned on me partway through Barbara Kingsolver’s book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, which I’ve taken to reading in bed at night before I drift off. Gently, yet firmly, Barbara and her husband Steven Hopp build a case for eating local based on food miles and ecological footprints and petroleum reserves and such.

While I’ve been aware of these arguments, I’ve been buying more local food because it tastes good. Because I like shopping at the farmer’s market. Because I enjoy the challenge of designing meals around what is in season. As I’ve said in previous posts, eating well is fun.

But I’ve been realizing lately that the path that begins with eating more sustainably is a slippery slope that invites one into an ever-expanding awareness about choices, and the effect individual choices have on the world at large.

Doggone it, eating local is making me think!

It’s made me realize that for years, I’ve been paying lip service to environmental stewardship. I’ve blamed the woes of the planet on the “other guy,” the one who drives around in a Hummer, tossing Styrofoam cartons out the window as he peels out of a McParking lot. I’ve assumed that my small virtues put me in the Good Camp: I’m a fastidious recycler; I pull on a sweater instead of turning up the thermostat; I use organic cleaners instead of bleach; I make a (small) monthly contribution to an environmental group that does wonderful things.

But let’s be honest: “all that” doesn’t amount to much. I would guess that my ecological footprint, if measured, would be almost identical to that of my neighbor, who makes no such concessions, and only negligibly different than the guy in the Hummer. With the exception of food, I usually buy what I want, when I want, without a lot of thought about where it came from or what was involved in the making of it. I put thousands of miles on my car every year, usually driving solo. I like fresh towels and long, hot showers and green lawns and air conditioning.

And bottled water. I like bottled water a lot.

Too bad it has gotten so much ink lately. Article after article has posited me, the bottled water drinker, as Planet Wrecker Extraordinaire. Moi? C’est impossible!

Sure, I was happy to read that Chez Panisse was switching to tap, and that Brett decided to do the same at Ollalie.

“That’s well and good for them,” I told myself, “But I need bottled water!” I rationalized my bin full of empties: Marin County water might be full of bad things. Tap water has fluoride in it, ick. What if I mysteriously contract a disease that turns out to have been spread via the local water supply?

Then, over the holiday weekend, I read an article by Jon Mooallem in the New York Times. It painted a vivid picture of the waste bottled water creates and told the riveting tale of Richard Chambers, founder of the first Bottle Bill. It also revealed this ugly statistic: this year, Americans will consume 30 billion single-serving bottles of water. Yes, that's billion with a "B."

Sadly, only 16% of bottles purchased in California reach the recycle bin. Most of them end up in landfills.

That was when I decided that if tap water was good enough for Alice Waters, it was good for me. As soon as my latest case of smartwater is gone, I’ll start refilling my glass Voss bottles with tap water while I investigate heavy-duty under-the-sink filters. Anyone know of a good one?

I realize that relinquishing bottled water is a miniscule step. The sum total of plastic bottles I will hereafter not use do not equal a significant environmental impact. I’m not patting myself on back, not by a long shot. As Jane Powell wrote in a recent Chronicle article, “try to be as green as possible - but don't fool yourself that it's going to save the planet.”

I am an eyelash on the gnat that lands on the butt of the elephant that is The Problem.

But I feel hopeful, and here's why: food can be a hook, a powerful entry point into a broader understanding of our impact on the world around us. Restaurants that began by using organic ingredients are now using local organic ingredients and sourcing reclaimed materials for their interiors. Chefs are stepping out of their kitchens and getting involved with the people who grow the produce they serve. Things are changing far beyond the scope of the dinner plate, but the dinner plate was the trigger. 

Turns out that taste and goodness and fun can be powerful levers for all sorts of change!

I'm on board, truly I am; just don't ask me to give up my long, hot showers.

Comments

[Tea]

Good post! I gave up bottled water as well--tote around a nalgene now. And in Seattle I shudder at the amount of paper coffee cups (doubled, and those darned heat rings) that get tossed and I keep an insulated cup in the car for when I need it. It may be negligable, but who said you're either part of the problem or part of the solution?

I agree with you that food can be a powerful trigger--and fun, too!

[cookiecrumb]

Good going, Jennifer. I'm eager to hear what filter you decide on.

[Tana]

We buy water from dispensers at Safeway. 29 cents a gallon, I think. It tastes great.

Unlike most of the rest of the country, wellwater here in on the California coast absolutely sucks. I can cook with it, but I wouldn't drink it: it's dingy and yucky. Filters don't work on the taste, so we just do the refillable bottles.

Carry on your good work: if your tap water ates okay, more power to you. Mine would gag a hippo.

[The Purloined Letter]

I think I I care more about the environment in practice than in theory--although I guess you are saying that in some ways as well. I eat local food because it is so fresh and delicious--and I love having the story right there. And, well, I drink tap water because it is, and I am, CHEAP.

Check out the contaminants in your local water before you buy a filter. We discovered that our local water tests better than bottled--and decided not to spend the money on a filter and not to send all those filter filters to a landfill. You may discover something entirely different about your own water--then again, you've already had cherries in your part of the world....

[Sean]

We're Britaholics in our house -- it at least knocks out the obvious nasty flavors from good old Hetch Hetchy, which isn't all that bad to start with. So in that regard, we are fortunate to live in a city with a reasonably palatable water supply. I'm visiting the in-laws in Kentucky right now, and lemme tell ya, brushing my teeth is an unsavory affair.

Still, I cannot give up my occasional bottle of Gerolsteiner, food miles be damned. But it's special-occasion water, not everyday, like an aqueous Chateau d'Yquem. ;-)

[Jennifer Jeffrey]

Tea - yes, I'll have to find a good bottle for the car. It really is staggering just how much we toss away.

Cookie - I'll let you know!

Tana - my tap water is resonant of chlorine, with the occasional metallic note to round out the bouquet. ;-) I'm not super fond of it.

Purloined - what I was trying to say was that when I really sat down to ask myself what I was doing help with the current eco-crisis, it didn't add up to much - even though I have all the best intentions. It's not so hard to give up out-of-season fruit... but really hard to give up convenient items like bottled water.

Sean - I'd like to find something more heavy-duty than Britta (yes, I'm paranoid!) - and isn't someone selling bottled Hetchy-Hetchy water? I seem to recall reading something about this recently... Have fun in Kentucky!

[The Purloined Letter]

Yep--I assumed you meant that, and it makes a lot of sense. I too realize how amazingly little I'm doing about the eco-crisis. But I also realize that a lot of the things I do that actually might help (or at least not actively hurt) the environment I do not because I'm an environmentalist but because I am a food snob and a gardening snob and cheap and old-fashioned. My partner became a gardener and a local economy person because he is an environmentalist. I am becoming an environmentalist because I am a local economy person, etc. Kind of funny. And yes, all those convenient things are SUCH a stumbling block!

[molly]

Great post. I live in Alaska and Barbara Kingsolver recently paid us a visit to speak about eating locally and other eco-friendly topics. I really enjoyed hearing her speak, but even she had to admit that we face a unique challenge here when it comes to eating locally. There's lots of fresh locally-grown produce in late summer, but throughout the winter, all that's available is potatoes and carrots. I think we had her stumped! But you've inspired me to give more thought to the water I drink.

[susanna]

Great post! I'm reading Barbara Kingsolver's book right now and I have to say, it's pretty darn inspiring. She writes well and educates her readers (that would be me) about eating locally and organically in a down-to-earth way. I'm learning alot and I'm not even halfway through the book! And yes, those water bottles...so convenient, especially during the summer, but they are not eco-friendly in a landfill. I heard somewhere that bottled water often comes from a municipality's drinking supply - the same water that the locals drink from their taps! It's another source of revenue for townships. Interesting, huh? I also read, perhaps in Kingsolver's book, that tap water has more inspections, etc., than privately owned water companies. Hmmm...I'm learning alot...

[Jennifer Jeffrey]

Purloined - different paths, all leading to the same place... it's all good! I love that food can be such a fun entry point.

Molly - you DO have a challenge, up there in Alaska! You're so brave for even attempting it. I didn't get a chance to hear BK when she was here in the Bay Area; wish I had.

Susanna - isn't it a great book?! And you're right about the bottled water - some of it definitely does come directly out of the tap. One never knows...

[Steamy Kitchen]

What a wonderful post - my friend just recommended that I get this same book. I'm debating whether to get this or The Omnivore's Dilemma. Which would you recommend? I have a long flight on Wednesday - and would love new reading material.

[:: Suzanne ::]

Enjoyed your post. I'd like to invite you to link it to the Animal, Vegetable, Miracle blogpost roundup.

[kim]

I know I'm late to the comment party here, but I'm just catching up on your "greatest hits" while I enjoy a few days of vacation. I agree that the bottled water kind of sneaks up on you. I lived in Tucson, AZ for six years - horrible, CAP water came out of my tap, so I got hooked on bottled.

I'm lucky to now live in an area of the country that allows me a deep, cold, well with great water. But I do bring my own bottles of water whenever I leave the house. I have a bottling plant in my town, and their "take" of water from the water table HAS to be affecting everyone downhill. I hate to think that someone else is drinking water that is rightfully my neighbors.

My latest dilemma: kitty litter containers. What to do with those permaplastic buckets?!