There is a certain irony that is not lost on me that I wrote our post on the 100 mile map in Richmond, Virginia – over 400 miles (700 kilometers) from home. It’s less ironic that I can’t go to the grocery store and determine where much of my food comes from – generic labels of USA, Canada or Ontario are somewhat helpful (and more straightforward than even a year ago) but painfully vague.
We created the 100 mile map a week ago (another irony: it is based on a principle put forward by two Vancouverite authors and I bought the book in San Diego). It’s left me far more affected than I imagined when creating it. There are 2 great lakes in addition to plenty of other sources of water (i.e. Lake Simcoe), oodles of forest, one of the best wine areas in the world, 2 countries, amazing farm country, moose, deer, bear, wild turkey, grouse, partridge and more. Enough food to last a lifetime. And I’m not sure I can find any of it with certainty.
Labels such as product of USA and product of Ontario are helpful – keep in mind, however, that one could drive to Richmond in a single day and Northern Ontario takes two very long days.
We made a mission of doing what we could this weekend and, despite the spring cool still heavy in the air (it snowed on us on Sunday morning), we were able to do well:
Parsnips, Carrots, cabbage, red leaf lettuce, onions, bacon, lamb, fiddleheads, asparagus, apples, pears, tomatoes, and more all from Ontario. The combination of hot house and cellared root vegetables filled our table (and our bellies). I was reaching for romaine lettuce when I recognized that the red leaf romaine was from Ontario and the “normal” lettuce was from the USA. Supporting local farmers (and, hopefully, impacting the world and environment around us) was as simple as being conscious about it – something I have rarely done in the past other than extremes (like garlic from overseas which I still don’t comprehend).
It’s certainly not 100 mile and some of our goods could be from further than it’s US brethren but eating exclusive to our province (other than cheats of balsamic, a lemon, salt and olive oil), felt good. It encouraged us to buy and taste things we otherwise would not have (I haven’t bought a cabbage in years and loved it) and brought the promise of old favourites (such as fiddleheads).
Food benefit aside, it’s given me as much to think about as it gave me to eat. 🙂
Well Preserved 