When I first heard about the big egg recall I felt safe. With all the farms in my state certainly eggs would not need to be shipped in from Iowa.
Then my receipt from this week’s grocery shopping told me I could have bought tainted eggs there. I checked the box at home and although the plant number was not on the recall list, the distributor was a company in Ohio.
The fact that my eggs traveled hundreds of miles to get to my refrigerator was not comforting. I didn’t use to pay attention to the source of my food but focused strictly on price.
Then I began to turn green.
Mr. Boomer and I have always recycled paper, glass and plastic but we evolved. We started toting reusable bags to the store. My plastic water bottles were exchanged for a Camelbak.
I learned about carbon footprint and the cost to the environment by not using locally grown produce. Although I might like fresh strawberries in January it is worth it have them shipped from Ecuador?
It’s time for me to become more mindful as I shop. My pledge is to start paying attention to the source of my fruits, vegetables, dairy products and meat.
I know that food safety issues can happen anywhere. But next time I don’t want to be surprised when I am at risk.
Is it a priority to you to buy locally grown or produced perishables or does price trump all?
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Our (green) mayor here in Vancouver introduced a bylaw that allowed backyard chickens. =)
So a lot of people have their own eggs and they know what went in the chickens and what they are fed.
It’s scary that so much contamination has been going on lately with our food products.
Before we moved our neighbors had chickens (including roosters) in their backyard. I was not happy early every morning with the crowing. I think someone finally complained because it was not allowed in our area and they got rid of them.
I would like the freshness (and safety) of the eggs, but wouldn’t want noise and smell.
Yay! I love my CamelBak water bottle! 😀
I’m with ya on this one. I’d really like to know exactly where my food comes from and buy it locally when possible. I’ll try if you will! 🙂
Red, you’re always better at making dietary changes than me (I’m still addicted to my diet coke) but I will definitely focus on this as it’s more than my personal health at stake.
P.S. We got three water bottles at BlogHer, none of which I like as well as my camelbak!
It’s sort of mind-blowing when you think about how many miles our food travels to reach our kitchens. Even though California is known for its produce, we still end up with fruits from Ecuador, Chile, Mexico (which isn’t too far in comparison) and Peru. I’m trying to get into a better habit of checking the sticker’s before purchasing the item!
As for eggs, I’m sort of out of luck. I don’t know any farms around my area that own chickens. Though there were some cute baby chicks for sale at the feed store. I might have to purchase one or two if I want to eat eggs ever again.
Little House, I’m going to check out the farmer’s market a few mile away and see if they have locally produced eggs. I’ll also check the source at Trader Joe’s.
I never really tried hard to go local. But we do buy almost everything via our CSA and farmers market. The only time we use the grocery store is for the soda runs or something. For us the cheapest option is the local option,esp. for organic, so it works out well. But I have seen a lot of farmers market where everything is costly. Have you tried the La Jolla elementary school farmers market @ Girard & Genter? they have a lot of selection, including eggs and baked goods. Forgot how the cost compared with grocery store though…
Suba, you sound like you are getting local produce and dairy already! We live pretty far from La Jolla but there are several within a few miles (Poway, Escondido and Rancho Bernardo).
Thanks for the idea!
I haven’t made a concerted effort to buy local on a year-round basis, but I think that it makes sense to spend a bit extra for fresher, high quality produce. There are some things that are actually a good investment; they may cost more upfront, but over the long run will be beneficial.
I do pick fruit annually, so I suppose that’s one attempt to buy local:)
Squirrelers, what type of fruit do you pick? My family lived in Washington part of my childhood and I remember getting stuck in the blackberry bushes still decades later. At one time I had a home in California with apricot and plum trees. They made great jam!
I was just having this conversation yesterday at a soccer game. My friend was telling me I should just buy my eggs at a local famer’s market. Ok, that would be great, but I had no idea one even existed.
I also ran to my fridge yesterday to see what ‘plant’ my eggs came from. Nowhere near where I live, that is for sure. I would love to buy more things local, and I guess it is something I need to explore more. I don’t want to drive 50 miles to buy local. I am willing to spend some extra, but I can’t take up a lot of time to do it.
We actually have a farmer a short distance away that always has a sign out by his road that reads something like Brown eggs 1.50 a dozen (I’m not 100% sure on the price). My wife and I have talked about buying them for the kids, hoping that they would be alot more healthy! But so far we have stuck with the cheap eggs from Walmart.
I don’t have enough money to afford to be totally green, but I am frugally green. I make it a point to go the green route when it’s frugal too (or perhaps a little over break even), or the health of my kids are in question.
The most green thing I have done to date is work more than a few hours keeping my junk lawnmower from ending up in a landfill dripping oil everywhere! When I do toss it (which will be soon), I’ll make sure I drain the oil first… every little bit counts!
Five more years from now, I think we will be in a financial position to be able to let more organic, healthier food come into our household for the entire family.
I do work at buying locally grown produce, but the amount and types of produce that are grown here in the desert are kind of slim. Does it count that I buy Pima cotton towels? Otherwise, I’ve sort of expanded my definition of local to mean “west coast”…
Jackie, I had a business lunch with clients from Las Vegas recently and they mentioned that their options for local produce is limited. I am lucky to have lots of agriculture in the area.
I’ve decided that I’m going to just start using all the eggs I’ve been laying over at my blog. That should keep my family fed for weeks. 😉
But seriously, I don’t care if my food comes from Ecuador or the United States. As long as the quality remains up to my standards (which, for the most part it does) and, of course, the price is right.
All the best,
Len
Len Penzo dot Com
Len, if the price is nearly equal and I have a choice between a locally grown canteloupe or one from Central America, I’ll choose local every time. Why support using the extra energy to get it to my table if not needed?
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