We figured the best way to find out why folks "eat local" would be to ask them. So we did. Here's what these "real people" have to say:
Elizabeth Arnold, an advisory attorney at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and a single mom of a nine-year-old boy, tells why she buys local food:
“My foray began for health reasons. I was just realizing how much processed food I ate, including fast food. I wanted to increase the quality and nutritional value of our food. The easiest thing to do to change that was join a CSA! The food was there, so I had to eat it!" Click here for more.
Kate Beveridge, a retired midwife, has this to say about local food:
"I grew up during World War II with rationing. Everything was local, because that's all there was! My grandfather had a humungous garden. That was just so easy. I thought lettuce was just easy. My first pizza was in eighth grade. When I was in my twenties, local food was still easy to come by. After I got married, I worked as a midwife in Southern Maryland. Sometimes I got paid in produce!...." Click here to read the rest of Kate's story.
Lynn Butler, a preschool teacher and karate instructor, buys milk from the local dairy, South Mountain Creamery. Here's what she has to say about it:
"We do think it's a better product. My child drinks an enormous amout of milk, and I was concerned about the hormones, but buying organic wasn't convenient for me. I like the recyclable bottles. I'm not loading up the recycling bin; and I'm not using plastic. We also buy the yogurt, cottage cheese and apple cider when it's in season. They make it with different apples every week. My husband just raves about it. It's so fresh-tasting."
Alan Cohen, president and owner of Bio-Logical Pest Management, a low-risk pest management company in Washington, DC, has this to say about local food and how his religious beliefs relate to it:
"I like local food because the produce usually has less pesticides and fungicides on it, since it hasn't been transported from far away. Fungicides are the most likely post-harvest chemical applied, and they can be more easily avoided if the fruits and vegetables can be sold right away. The key is to try to buy in season, buy local, and try to buy organic.
"I started thinking about pesticides and the food supply even before college, when my high school biology teacher read us Silent Spring (by Rachel Carson). It definitely was a powerful message to hear at a young age, before there was even a big organic movement.
"Local food tastes better too! It's going to be fresher. I've been a member of Mike Tabor's Licking Creek Bend Farm CSA for three years now, and I really like it.
"Growing up in a Jewish home makes one aware of where food comes from and how pure it is. This leads naturally to organic food, and eco-kashrut, which applies principles of justice to food production. If a farm product is produced, but the workers or the animals are exploited, how can that be considered proper to eat? These are the questions I think about now. I'm also a supporter of Hazon (www.hazon.org), a group focused on creating a healthier more sustainable Jewish community, including through food. For example, Hazon fosters CSAs and hosts the blog 'Jew and the Carrot,' which describes itself as 'the epicenter of Jews, food, and sustainability on the web'."
Jim Coleman, economic development consultant for the town of Riverdale Park and market coordinator for the Riverdale Park Farmers Market, loves local food for many reasons:
At heart, I love food. Because of the fact that I love food so much, I love local food. It is by far the freshest, tastiest and best food in every way. It's just a totally different scenario, compared to other food, whether produce, meat or dairy. A lot of us grew up going to the grocery store. (My mom used to shop at the Safeway regularly.) And if you didn't know any better, you'd think all beets taste awful, for example. But fresh, local beets taste sweet, fresh, and earthy. You'd think chicken had no taste and that tomatoes are hard on the outside and mealy on the inside. I just didn't know any better and I'm sure I'm not the only one. Yet fresh, seasonal foods are ripe, tender, and delicious.
My dad had his own personal vegetable garden in Alexandria when I was growing up. You could always tell how great the tomatoes were. I have been going to farmers markets for many years. Therefore, I also have a strong appreciation for all the difficult work that goes into local food. I am a strong believer in conservation and appropriate land use for rural areas. I think rural areas are important from an environmental standpoint, and they give people food security.
Because I love local food for all these reasons, I am doing everything I can to promote it, including through restaurants and through my work with farmers markets. I strongly encourage anyone in the area who has a restaurant to consider using local food first, because it's much higher quality.
Michael Cooney, a paramedic, EMT volunteer in Greenbelt and teacher of paramedics at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, has this to say about local food:
“I try to stay fit as best I can. Local food hasn’t traveled long and doesn’t require as many preservatives. There are no nitrites and no MSG. The nutrients don’t break down. I like local foods, too, because they cost less in energy to get to my table, and that’s a big thing with me. I’d also rather the money stay here. I want to support the local community. I volunteer here (Greenbelt Volunteer Fire Department) because I want to support my hometown. I was born and raised here." Click here for more.
Sylvia Ellison, a statistician for the National Center for Health Statistics, sources food from a number of local farms and producers. Recently, she had an enlightening experience that we can all learn from:
"When buying local or organic, it is still important to read the label, or ask questions when there is no label. I was recently dismayed to find that a favorite local, quasi-organic, fruit yogurt is sweetened with corn syrup. It's printed right on the container, but I'd not bothered to check before.
"Otherwise, my family and I have really enjoyed the delicious chicken and grassfed beef from Fresh & Local CSA and Rainbow Acres."
Lori Ewing, an advertising executive and mother of three, explains why she joined a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program to enjoy local food:
"I wanted produce, the best I could get, that was actually flavorful and fresh."
Trusting the local farmer, avoiding pesticides and supporting the local economy were all important, she says. But Ewing also wanted to get away from buying products from megafarms, where conditions for workers are so poor, she adds. She wanted to find deeper flavor and get her kids eating more nutritious fare, too.
Aside from taste, simple logistics are another big attraction, she notes. The weekly distribution, for example, eliminates the usual chaos surrounding when and where to shop. Picking up the box at a home in her community is "just basically a drive-by," laughs Ewing. "It was actually easier" than picking out foods at the store or market, she adds. "All I had to do was come and grab the box."
(Excerpt from "The ABCs of CSAs: Joining a CSA for Tasty Local Vegetables" by Kristi Bahrenburg Janzen in the Winter 2007 issue of Edible Chesapeake.)
Alison Gentry, a mother of four who works at the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, loves local food for the following reasons:
"For more than 20 years, I’ve been trying to stay away from chemicals, sprays and irradiation. While raising a family, I became keenly aware of how important it is for people to have another source of food besides the giant agri-businesses." To read more, click here.
Lauren Good of University Park, MD, has recently been buying more local food. Here’s why:
"We want to buy local food to make life sustainable for small farmers. I am also suspect of mass farming. And I’m concerned about the pollution and the environmental aspect of trucking all the food in, with all the CO2 emissions.
“Everything we can buy organic, we do. It’s been easier because Giant carries so much organic. The local is the thing we’re trying to work more toward. We used the Riverdale Farmers’ Market as much as we could this year. Last year, we got a quarter of beef from Clagett Farm. We’re trying! We have been less successful with things like pasta, canned goods and some meats. But I was just on my computer checking out the So Maryland So Good website, looking for meat and poultry. There's a lot more than I realized."
George Klimes, a realtor in the College Park area -- pictured here in front of his fig tree -- buys local food in part because he's hoping that, as more people demand this kind of food, it will become more widely available at a more affordable price. In his own words:
"Being a biology major in college, I learned just how dangerous pesticides can be.... You have to do a risk analysis, and, in terms of synthetic pesticides, I don't think the benefits outweigh the costs." Click here for more.
In September 2008, Kristi conducted a full interview with Charlie Koiner, 87, who has been farming all his life, still maintains a farm in urban Silver Spring, MD, and is a fixture at the Silver Spring farmers market. At the time of the interview, Koiner and his daughter Lynn had just finished hauling in more than 130 ribbons and awards from the horticulture show at the Montgomery County fair.
Ray Limon, preparing homemade enchiladas with locally-raised steak, says:
“I’m the oldest of 10. I grew up cooking, so I’m not intimidated by food. My Dad is Mexican and my mom is Irish, so I was raised with tortillas, fresh tomatoes and chiles...I want to use ‘eating local’ as a teaching opportunity for my two young boys...." To read more, click here.
Zakia Nelson, an epidemiologist, began focusing on local food when she was pregnant, in particular because she was concerned about the quality of typical grocery-store meat. Here's what she has to say about local food:
"I work in public health, so I'm always thinking and reading about environmental health exposures. Being somewhat familiar with the U.S. meat industry, I have concern about the conditions in which meat is being slaughtered and prepared. I trust local foods to not have many or any issues regarding synthetic pesticides, chemical exposures and bacterial contamination.
"I was a vegan for more than 10 years....This is the kind of meat that makes me comfortable to eat meat." Click here for complete profile.
Olivia, an elementary school student living in Maryland, spoke to Local Mix about her love of local food, especially from her own garden:
"Butternut squash is one of my favorite foods, so I decided to plant it. I wasn't like my brother, who wouldn't eat anything that's orange. I like vegetables. And the butternut squash makes butternut squash risotto.
"It's sort of fun to take care of the garden. We do it every summer. You have to water it every day, when it's really dry. We don't spray at all. We pick off caterpillars and other things. We tie red ribbons to keep the birds away." Click here for complete profile.
In her own words, here's why Sara, a 17-year-old high school senior in Maryland, loves local food:
"I just like knowing it has no pesticides or chemicals. It's fresh and safe to eat. I'm kind of like a health nut. I play soccer, run track and swim. I want to be a dietician and help people who have disorders, or who want to focus on their diet and calorie intake for sports. I know what foods are going to give me energy...." Click here for more.
Solomon, an 11-year old from Maryland, whose mother is a cookbook author and founder of a "seasonal online weekly menu planner" entitled The Six O'Clock Scramble (at www.thescramble.com), has been involved in helping improve food in public schools. Solomon has these comments on local food:
"I found that just because it's not shipped as far, and it's fresher, it tastes better. And it's better for the environment.
"I really like local fruit a lot. We actually get most of our fruit from the farmers market around here, where it's locally grown fruit. We'll buy lots of fruits and vegetables. I like plums, strawberries when they're in season, peaches, nectarines. We just got some really good cantaloupes. My family has also started buying meat only from local farms too.
"The main reason I'm concerned with this is because my mom is really into food, and locally grown food. It wouldn't necessarily be a factor if it wasn't for her. But I do like it better."
Andrew Widman, a financial analyst and gardener who grows his own seedlings in suburban Maryland, tells why he is dedicated to local food, especially from his own backyard:
"I can do varieties I can't possibly get from the hardware store or other local merchants and garden centers. Most of the plants available at local retailers were developed for commercial growers, and they were bred to ship well rather than to taste good. There's also a quality issue. I know I applied minimal fertilizer and didn't use pesticides. My seedlings are not root bound. I like the idea that I've had complete control over the plants from start to finish.
"The better your seedling, the more likely it is to thrive. Then, I can leave [the fruits] on the vine until they're perfectly ripe.
"I also like to share it with the kids. Both my kids are involved. They get to see the life cycle of a plant. They understand that food comes from something that needs to be nurtured.
"There's also a hobby aspect. And the frugality is really appealing. You can grow hundreds of dollars of food on your own, for minimal investment, except for sweat and nurturing. I have two plots in the backyard that get near full sun where I grow mostly tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and basil, all from my own seedlings. It's a testament to the fact that you don't need a flat plot of land in the middle of an open expanse to grow vegetables."
All content of the Real People Eat Local website and the Local Mix email newsletter is original and the property of Renee Brooks Catacalos and Kristi Bahrenburg Janzen. We welcome your comments at feedback@realpeopleeatlocal.com.
