The Nest

Eco - Friendly Summer Food

Posted Wednesday, August 08, 2007 5:12 PM

I try to eat locally but sometimes it’s hard. The other night I realized that the avocados I was mashing into guac came from Chile, which is ridiculous since about half of my friends in LA have avocado trees in their back yards! Lately the media has given a lot of attention to the issue of locally-produced food (in part because of two best-selling books on the subject: The Ominivore’s Dilemma and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle) so I’m well aware that the average food item travels an estimated 1200 to 2500 miles to get to our plates, and of course produce grown in South America covers a lot more ground than that. Transporting food halfway across the world uses up a ton of energy and contributes heavily to climate change and pollution problems.

The best way to make sure your food didn’t make a transcontinental journey to reach you is to shop at local farmers’ markets. Aside from being good for the planet, produce grown (practically) in your back yard is of course way fresher and tastes a whole lot better since it was just plucked from the ground. And at this time of year we have no excuse not to eat locally, since there is so much delicious stuff in season. Think juicy tomatoes, sweet corn, and luscious berries, peaches and plums. (It’s much harder in the winter, especially if you live in a cold climate—there are only so many mashed potatoes and roasted root veggies a couple can eat). Check out this guide to see what’s in season in your region, then start thinking of all the scrumptious salads, grilled goodies and fruity desserts you can make with local ingredients. This weekend I’m going to use some farmers’ market heirloom tomatoes in this panzanella salad and locally-grown raspberries for this delish looking pudding.

What locally-grown summer foods are your favorites?