Carol:
State of the Onion 2011
This week we recorded President Obama’s State of the Union Address, so we were able to fast forward through the pre-speech news commentary, the countless handshakes and cheek busses, and the interruption of “spontaneous” applause. The President was on his game, putting forth a three-pronged approach to “winning the future” that included such benchmarks as:
• 1 million electric vehicles on the road by 2015
• 80% of electricity coming from clean energy sources by 2035
• High-speed internet access to 98% of Americans by 2016
(source: State of the Union Address 2011)
Whatever your political leanings, whether or not you agree with the priorities set in the State of the Union message, here’s a proposal that would challenge each of us to apply innovation, education, and rebuilding through a single project: the 100 Mile-Diet.
The “100- Mile Diet” concept comes from Canadian writers Alisa Smith and J.B. MacKinnon, a challenge the authors gave themselves to restrict their diet for one year to foods grown within 100 miles of their home. The project required not only changing where they bought their food but, of course, their eating habits. Innovation? They had to think outside the box-store, beyond the typical grocery list and supermarket, searching out local growers and markets and finding creative uses for a wider range of foods. They educated themselves about the sustainable food movement and preparation/storage of non-processed foods. They had to rebuild their relationship not only to food but to the whole culture of eating—the easy and cheap “Fast Food Nation” mentality.
Smith and MacKinnon’s subsequent book encouraged families and communities to accept the “100-Mile Diet Challenge,” if only for a week or a month. But, is the 100-Mile Diet just a quirky fad that is too time-consuming, expensive, and complicated for 21st century Americans who drive farther and worker harder to pay their food bills than ever before?
What are the benefits of a “buy local, eat local” lifestyle?
What are the benefits of a “buy local, eat local” lifestyle?
--Energy Impact: according to 100-Mile-Diet.org, a study in Iowa showed that “a regional diet consumed 17 times less oil and gas than a typical diet based on food shipped across country.” Sustainable Table.org talks about “food miles,” the distance a food travels from farm to table, noting that food miles for the average grocery store item is 27 times higher than for goods bought from local sources. The refrigeration needed to haul produce across the country or the globe further contributes to energy waste.
--Economic Impact: A “locavore” approach to eating supports the survival—and revival—of family farms and local businesses. According to Sustainable Table.org, only about 7% of food dollars spent at a typical grocery store chain stays within the local economy, with the greater portion going to a global food infrastructure of processing, packaging, shipping costs, etc. That number rises to 40% with a regional buying approach, and when we by direct from local farmers, 90% of that food dollar goes back into the farm.
--Dietary Impact: The sustainable/local food movement is about diet for health and nutrition. Buying locally means eating fresher foods, expanding our repertoire of recipes to incorporate more flavors and textures, eliminating additives, and artificial flavor enhancers from our diets.
The 100-Mile-Diet challenge is a great one for the whole family. Most communities have farmers markets, whole foods stores, and food-coops to supply your own table. Local restaurants have begun to advertise a “buy local” menu including regional wines and seasonal menus. And, all the information you need about where to find local foods is available on the internet.
The 100-Mile-Diet challenge is a great one for the whole family. Most communities have farmers markets, whole foods stores, and food-coops to supply your own table. Local restaurants have begun to advertise a “buy local” menu including regional wines and seasonal menus. And, all the information you need about where to find local foods is available on the internet.
Best of all, create/innovate with your own or community garden, Educate yourself about the various seeds and growing conditions for your climate zone. Rebuild your yard with raised vegetables beds. Imagine the whole new repertoire of taste and color you will add to the family cuisine when you grow your own healthy, luscious, tasty….onions.
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| Think of the gas you'll save |
Megan:
Why I hate skunks
Who made up these topics? What were they hoping to inspire?
Gasoline. And Onions.
Things that smell bad and make you cry.
What else smells bad enough to cry? Milo’s farts. Skunks.
Recently some skunks (and a raccoon) murdered most of my cousin’s chickens. I say murdered because they killed the birds but did not eat them (the raccoon ate his). This makes me not like skunks very much. I’ve always hated their smell, but as a far as mammals go they look cute and cuddly and not like vicious killers.
Anyway, here are three other reasons I hate skunks:
1. The Incident with the Dog
When I was about 11 or 12, I let our dog Trixie back in the house for the night. She came running in and immediately started rubbing her face all over the carpet, like she had something in her eyes. It took a second for the smell to catch up with her, but when it hit, we all started yelling. My mother was not home, she taught night classes sometimes. My father ran upstairs calling over his shoulder that Trixie was our dog so it was our responsibility. He went in his room and shut the door. My brother and I looked at each other. Marshall was about 9. “Tomato juice?” he suggested.
We only had V8. Long expired gallon tins of V8 from the back of the cupboard. We wrestled the dog into the bath tub which was not easy because I had traumatized her as a puppy with an icy bath when I thought she might be too hot. Her claws scritched on the tub, and I held her collar while Marshall dumped the V8 on her face. I don’t remember what my mom said when she got home, but she can’t have been very impressed with my father.
Anyway, here are three other reasons I hate skunks:
1. The Incident with the Dog
When I was about 11 or 12, I let our dog Trixie back in the house for the night. She came running in and immediately started rubbing her face all over the carpet, like she had something in her eyes. It took a second for the smell to catch up with her, but when it hit, we all started yelling. My mother was not home, she taught night classes sometimes. My father ran upstairs calling over his shoulder that Trixie was our dog so it was our responsibility. He went in his room and shut the door. My brother and I looked at each other. Marshall was about 9. “Tomato juice?” he suggested.
We only had V8. Long expired gallon tins of V8 from the back of the cupboard. We wrestled the dog into the bath tub which was not easy because I had traumatized her as a puppy with an icy bath when I thought she might be too hot. Her claws scritched on the tub, and I held her collar while Marshall dumped the V8 on her face. I don’t remember what my mom said when she got home, but she can’t have been very impressed with my father.
2. The Incident in the Garage.
This one is kind of sad. Someone trapped a skunk in our garage. It tried to get out around the mechanisms of the door, but somehow got its head stuck. It must have thrashed around because it knocked over an open can of oil, which soaked through its body and into the plasterboard wall. So, at some point the skunk sprayed and filled the garage. When the doors are shut, the garage ventilates into the basement, which is where the A/C and the furnace are. I can’t remember if it was summer or winter, but one or the other was on at the time. The spray got into the vents and was blown into every room of the house.
3. The Incident at Mary Morse Hall.
This one could have been worse.
This one could have been worse.
My college in Oakland had a beautiful old dorm designated for the freshwomen to all live together. While I was there, it was called Mary Morse hall. It had a front desk, and a room for gentleman callers to wait for their female escorts.
Anyway, I was siting on the front steps one day thinking about life when I heard rustling from the garbage can next to me. I turned to find a skunk, not 2 feet away from me, chewing open a plastic bag. I leapt to my feet and ran into the drive way. I called to the open windows above the steps and someone stuck her head out. I pointed to the skunk.
“Can you come down and open the door for me, and then I’ll run inside really fast?”
“You want me to open the door while it’s right there? No. I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“What? Please.”
“You’ll have to wait.”
“Can you come down and open the door for me, and then I’ll run inside really fast?”
“You want me to open the door while it’s right there? No. I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“What? Please.”
“You’ll have to wait.”
I went around back and then crawled through an open window in the laundry room. So much for the security of the front desk.
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