What do these two stories have in common? Well, these pieces are not ground-breaking stories, but rather the latest (but not the last) in a long history of reports about the perils of fast and/or imported/processed foods.
First, only 12 out of 3000 meals offered up by today's fast food chains meets nutritional requirements set forth by the powers that be for pre-school aged children. All sarcastic exclamations aside, this is not news.
And Trader Joe's - a veritable superhero in the supermarket realm - falls prey to a supplier's concoction possibly containing salmonella-tainted ingredients. Notice on Trader Joe's website.
The more processed and longer the supply chain, the slower these issues can be identified and reported. In short, traceability suffers.
I think you all know where I'm going with this. EAT LOCAL! Locally grown, locally produced food. REAL food. SIMPLE food. NUTRITIOUS, DELICIOUS food.
Let me temper this plea with a shot of reality. This is not only advice for those of you who are intimidated by the thought of taking the plunge deep into the local food movement, but it's an epiphany I had when approaching the Slow/Local Food Movement, and was feeling guilty for not going whole-hog:
This is not an all-or-nothing proposition. The Local Food Movement is not a destination. There is no gold key that you're awarded that proclaims that you have arrived in an all-local Utopia.
Rather, with every additional dollar spent on local vs. imported, there are physical, mental, economic and regional benefits. It's a journey - an enjoyable, wondrous and very fulfilling journey on which you meet wonderful people, have simple yet incredible experiences, and share the best of your region with those you love, passing along food traditions and healthy eating habits and developing a deep and sincere appreciation for what it takes farmers, producers and artisans to create the food that we enjoy!
Happy travels!
pfsst! Really!
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