Hummusgirl's Blog

I have tried to kind of eat the local food diet, but did not last long at all (and to tell you the truth, thought it was impossible).  But seeing as there are so many small businesses around us all, why not try to eat from small businesses?  You could go to a small market or grocery stores, and research which food is from a small business and getting that.  For example, King Arthur’s Flour is a small flour business in Vermont that I always get.  It’s more expensive, but it is higher in quality.

I know times are tough, and it’s easier to get generic when a lot of food is generic these days.  But think about the stuff that you can’t get generic, like milk or produce or bread.  These are staples that the bakeries, farmers’ markets, and dairy farms specialize in.

I get tahini from my Middle Eastern grocery Oasis.  I know it comes from far away, but I read a book called Just Food in which the guy questions whether locally made products really do use less fossil fuels then say far away ones.  He has a lot of examples of questioning the organic movement and says that conventional farming might be better in the long run.

Do big businesses like Walmart have local produce?  I think I’ve heard they do that now.  So in my “buy from small business” model, I would think buying from a small business would be better because the economy is in a recession right?  We have to support small businesses now more than ever because if we don’t than we’re just supporting the big conglomerates.  Small businesses at least usually have a family behind it, with sometimes only family.  I would rather support that than a big conglomerate even if they do buy locally right?

Produce is what people need to eat more of, so is it confusing to those who have trouble getting it, to say, “buy it locally”?  Are we just separating the social classes more and more?  Is everyone aware of the food movement going on right now or are some of us just doing the best they can to budget their food sources accordingly?