Local Delicious

I’m a big fan of eating local and making local food choices a part of my daily food decisions. But it’s possible to go overboard on eating local, as the following clip very humorously illustrates.

I hope this isn’t you…

Here’s a great — and extreme — example of a family taking ownership of their food supply. It’s proof that even a small amount of land can give us much more than we may imagine is possible. Be inspired!

We have a great community garden program here in Vancouver, BC but there are always more people who want to garden than there are available plots. I’d love to see more people with land share it with the people who want to garden. If you’re interested, check out Sharing Backyards.

Find more inspiring videos at KarmaTube.org.

The 100-Mile Diet Society of Vancouver has launched a fun, short, animated film, Home Is Where the Food Is, which follows every ingredient of a delicious and simple meal to its source.

“I visited a dairy farm, a mill/bakery, and a busy marina, all on Vancouver Island, and all within my 100-mile radius. I also spent time in the kitchen with Tina Biello, a busy working gal who makes time for her food, from growing her own veggies to learning about the production of local food for her favourite family recipes,” says animator Jody Kramer. “My film will make you feel hungry.”

The 100-Mile Diet Society and the Centre for Sustainable Food Systems at UBC Farm have joined forces to explore how sustainable agriculture can help reduce climate change and nurture the environment.

Via the dangers of YouTube I’ve discovered a new way to “waste” time, brought to you by GOOD Magazine. First it was Drinking Water, now it’s all about food.

I love the quick, bite size snacks of information I get from the GOOD Magazine YouTube channel and, despite the fact that I too am guilty of letting food rot in the refrigerator, I come away from this clip feeling more motivated to avoid waste than bad for my occasional lapse.

I don’t know about you, but as kids we were reminded to think of all the starving kids in Africa, whenever we didn’t want to finish our dinner. One kid from school who got powdered milk in her lunch used to perform a solemn ritual each day, pouring it down the toilet and reciting with due respect, “God bless all the children in Africa” while flushing it away with a flourish.

I really can’t blame Mauvereen (really, it’s nasty stuff). In fact, maybe in her honour we could pause to consider the local hungry kids — and the ones in Africa — before we toss out that barely bruised banana.

YouTube is a dangerous place for me to visit, as it can result in me spending a great deal of time watching fascinating and enlightening TED Talks. Occasionally I follow a thread and come across other great sources of compelling information, like my recent find from Good Magazine.

This one, on drinking water, describes the health impact of contaminated water sources and notes how easy it can be to clean it up. It really makes me wonder why this is still such an issue in developing countries when the downside is so devastating.

Check out other Local Delicious posts for more on water issues:

Drink Local…Water I Mean
Who Owns Your Water
Enjoy the Luxury of Local, Drinkable Water
The Switch From Bottled Water

I swear, I’m not searching this stuff out, it’s just coming out of the woodwork! I haven’t sent a request for information to anyone, and the friend who sent me this mass-forwarded presentation doesn’t even know I’ve been blogging about water.

I can’t vouch for the source of the info, but even if it’s only half or even a quarter true it’s still going to make you stop and contemplate where your water is coming from, how it got to you, and what’s going to happen to the container it came in when you’re done.

Water Disaster