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LocalHarvest Newsletter - Is Local More Expensive?

 

September 25, 2008

 

 

 

 

Welcome back to the LocalHarvest Newsletter.

 

We get this question a lot: "Is it more

expensive to eat local food?" Usually we try

to work our way around the question, speaking

with enthusiasm about the quality and flavor

of fresh local food, its healthfulness, its

contribution to the local economy, etcetera.

Sometimes we convince the questioners that

they can't look at price alone, because the

quality of stuff that's picked green and

trucked in can't be compared with that of the

fresh, vine-ripened produce. Other times the

person hears us out and then says, "So it is

more expensive then, huh."

 

 

The truth is, we don't know the answer to the

question. As with so many substantive issues,

the real answer is, "It depends." It depends

on the product and the season and the vendor.

Depends on whether its organic and how much

of it the farmer or grocer is trying to move

that week. Lots and lots of variables. Still,

with the economy looming large in many

people's minds, it seems a good time to try

and find out.

 

 

A few days ago I took a notebook to my local

supermarket, made a list of the prices for

various fruits and vegetables, and then

compared notes at my farmers market. The

organic produce section at the grocery store

was completely cleared out on this particular

day, so I gathered conventional produce

prices at the store and "low spray" at the

market. Small watermelons (the ones they're

calling "mini" or "personal size" this year)

were $2 at the farmers market and $4.49 at

the store. Local tomatoes at the grocery

store were $2.49 a pound, and $1.50 a pound

at the market. Peppers were less expensive at

the market. Winter squash was about the same.

Onions were cheaper at the store.

 

 

This small foray into price comparisons made

me want to know more. I would like to have a

good answer the next time a reporter calls to

ask me whether 'local' is more expensive. Not

that price is the only measure of value, but

it is one, and sometimes an important one.

Moreover, the perception about the relative

price of buying local is also very important.

 

 

I'd like to ask for your help.

What I have in mind is a kind of collective

research project. This newsletter

will go out to about 50,000 people. Certainly

a few dozen of you might be

interested in doing a little comparative

shopping over the next couple of months

and maybe again in the spring? I have a

spreadsheet that I will send to anyone

who is interested. You can fill out the

portions of it that apply to the foods

that are in season where you live, and send

it back to me. We'll compile all

the data and report the findings back to the

group. If you are interested in

learning more about participating in this

grassroots research, please

contact

me.

 

 

Meanwhile, please enjoy the rest of the

newsletter, and as always,

Eat well and take good care -

 

Erin

 

Erin Barnett, LocalHarvest

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From the LocalHarvest Store:

 

 

 

The smell of Fall is in the air and

Thanksgiving is getting closer. We have

been talking with our turkey farmers, and

they tell us that the birds are all

strutting around their pastures, fattening

up. We often sell out of certain

types of turkeys, so order

yours early!

 

CSAs - they aren't just for summers anymore!

The LocalHarvest directory

includes 753 CSAs that offer winter shares,

some of whom sell these shares

through our store. To see if there's one near

you, go to our

CSA

search engine

 

 

This is a longer newsletter than usual, so I

won't go on and on about our

products. Let me just remind you of a few of

our current best sellers:

dried

lavender,

passion fruit,

honey,

wild

blueberries, and

medicinal

herbs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Almond Lawsuit Filed

 

 

 

Longtime readers will recall that about 15

months ago

we

wrote

about a new mandate requiring that all raw

almonds grown in the U.S. be "pasteurized" via

steam or a toxic chemical process - while

still labeled "raw."

Pasteurization is meant to protect the public

from germs that thrive where sloppy

agriculture and food handling are practiced.

Critics (like us) say that if everyone

would wash their hands and keep animal manure

off the nuts, then pasteurization would

be unnecessary and "raw" could actually mean

what it's always meant.

 

Read More...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kitchen Gardens for All - even Mr. President

 

 

 

I read the newsletter of a small organization

called

Kitchen Gardener's

International.

You should too, if the following appeals to

you -- a little

quirkiness, some sound gardening advice, a

few nice how-to videos, and a

congenial online forum for fresh food fans.

Right now KGI's founder, Roger

Doiron, is on a mission to put a garden fork

in the hands of our next

President, and it turns out it's not even a

new idea. Check out this short

video showing the history of

America's

"First Garden" - food raised on the

White House lawn.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nancy's Nutrition Corner - Potatoes

 

 

 

Whenever I think about potatoes, my mind

immediately goes to the Glycemic

Index. Maybe that's because I'm a naturopath,

but really - everyone should

think about the GI when potatoes come to

mind! Let me explain...

 

Read on...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Recipe Corner: Quinoa with Purple Potatoes - By Lorna Sass

 

 

 

There once was a time when eating potatoes

meant fried, baked, boiled. Since

few people made fries at home, we all

contently kept baking potatoes stocked in

the kitchens and the more adventurous kept a

stash of new potatoes for boiling.

 

Recipes and More...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Contact Information

 

 

 

email:

newsletter

 

 

web:

http://www.localharvest.org

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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