Pass on the Corn, Please

While working on various things this afternoon, I was also listening to Fresh Air with Terry Gross streaming on the Internet (from WBUR in Boston). Terry's main guest was Michael Pollan, journalism professor at UC-Berkeley and recent author of The Omnivore's Dilemma. Pollan's book tracks the lifecycle of "industrial food" from seed to plate. Of note: his discussion of how corn -- in the guise of high fructose corn syrup -- has infiltrated almost every area of our diet. Pollan calls the syrup a "marker" for highly processed food. If you are into avoiding such food, look for ones that don't have it on their labels and you've made a good start. When I heard about corn's overwhelming hold upon our diet, I nearly dropped my Hot Pocket.

Environmental damage, industrial farming, food processing, fossil fuels, over-fertilization: the list of Pollen's complaints is nothing new. What I did find interesting and new from his discussion was his methodical approach to tracking the sources of these complaints, his nuanced attitudes towards the producers of the food and his critical examination of the alternatives to the typical methods of production. Whole Foods Markets, for example (a chain of natural foods supermarkets that he sometimes frequents) are described as a good thing in some respects -- their food does come from sources that make pains to produce them in a more environmentally sustainable way -- but he also criticizes them when they get their products for sale from geographically remote sources -- like grass-feed beef from New Zealand. In the case of the New Zealand beef, Pollen points out that the fossil fuels required to bring it from there to here tend to negate the environmental benefits accrued through the circumstances in which it was raised and slaughtered.

It is local food -- no surprise here -- that apparently has Pollen most excited. Here you can have the environmental benefits of (potentially) sustainable farming practices AND of the lesser amounts of energy required to get the foods to market -- and to your plate. [Begin gratuitous -- and irrelevant! -- Japanimation allusion disguised as a plug for locally-grown produce] Carbondale Farmer's Market Hyper Robot Happy Fun Rocket Team Go! [End allusion]

I presume there are sources of local eating (and I don't mean eating in local restaurants) in Carbondale and the surrounding, but what are they? The farmer's market (Hyper Robot Happy...oh, forget it) of course, but where else? How much local food is at the Coop?

None of this is meant as a criticism of the practices of local food producers and produce eaters -- I'm hardly a poster boy for good eating -- rather more out of a simple sense of curiousity and of keeping an open mind about improving myself and my family.

Of course, the question that should be on all of our minds is, and you all are sure to agree with me here, "Can I select, gather and prepare a meal cooked entirely from local foodstuffs without ever leaving my house to select, gather and prepare it?" Let's find out.

The Neighborhood Coop is a logical place to start. Apparently, they do carry locally-grown foods. Can I find out from their website? No. Do they deliver? Can't tell. They do have all their newsletters in PDF -- these could be a potential goldmine of information about their products and services. When the documents finish loading on my computer later this month, I'll let you know what I find out. Strike one.

The Carbondale Farmer's Market is a local summer institution. Many awesome venders awesomely share the awesomeness of their awesome goods and produce. It is, you will be surprised to discover, unlikely that delivery is available. Also, you can't place orders over the Internet. Or even get online at the market. Strike two. (Bythewayit'sawesomedidImentionthat?)

Von Jakob Vineyard has -- according to their website -- 20 different wines. Again, ixnay on the nternetiay rderingoay. But...if I used skype to place the call, technically I'd still be online! Base hit.

For dessert, I'll order some fudge from Arndt's Fudgery in Newton. 75 flavors of fudge made fresh and delivered to my door? Can you say "sampler"? Sacrifice bunt.

Ok, so I couldn't find any local produce, but I did find some local food/beverage type products. Although if I am broadening my definition of local food to include these, I might as well just order a pizza from Quatros and be done with it. AndI will right after I finish this case of Honey Blush. And this last. piece. of. fudge.

In addition to the letter, I think I may have lost sight of the spirit of my original proposal. Getting drunk and wired on excessive sugar can still only be considered healthy in the future world of Woody Allen's Sleeper.

The moral? It's good to pause to consider the impact that the industrial production of our food has on our environment. And its good to realize we can't have a healthier diet without making some effort to seek out alternatives. Points to ponder. Right after I finish this awesome bowl of High Fructose Corn Syrup O's.