From Ground to Grindz — Day 8: A Look Back
Not much can change in just one week.
The food purchases made in Hawaii during the last seven days are not going to change the shape of the market, and the money earned by local farmers is not going to change the way they do business. But there is value in the lessons learned by those who took the Eat Local Challenge.
In an effort to highlight the shortcomings of the current model and promote sustainability and self-sufficiency, put on the challenge, asking citizens to commit to eating locally grown food. Some participated for one meal or one day. Korina, my girlfriend, and I did it for one week.
The state has come a long way in terms of crop diversification since the days when sugar and pineapple were king. There are small farms and ranches sprinkled across the islands producing fruits and vegetables, meet and milk, eggs and honey. A person can subsist on the bounty of the land and nearshore waters here, as we found out.
But that doesn’t mean it was pleasant. We quickly learned the limitations of an all-local diet. There are no local grains. That means no local rice — one of the staples of many Asian cultures that have taken hold here in Hawaii. That also means no bread and no pasta of any kind. And it means no beer.
I blogged about the experience here at Civil Beat, taking you through the peaks and valleys of all 21 meals and some of the fun things in between. You can read those entries here:
- Intro: Trying to Eat Local
- First Weekend: Ready, Set, Go!
- Monday: The Office Locavore
- Tuesday: Finding a Rhythm
- Wednesday: Touring the Stores
- Wednesday: Reservations About Dinner
- Thursday: Nobody’s Perfect
- Friday: The Final Countdown
- Saturday: End Is Here
It was alternately infuriating and rewarding, miserable and fun. There were times I didn’t think I’d be able to go through with it, but I’m glad I did. I learned a lot.
From a purely numerical standpoint, I lost seven pounds in seven days, going from 218 to 211 without any exercise. Korina shed some pounds too. So weight loss is one tangible benefit we’re both enjoying today.
But the challenge came with a hefty price tag. Korina and I usually spend around $160 on food, but this week our food bill was nearly $400. Of course, that included the most expensive meal we’ve purchased since we moved to Honolulu ($125) and one of our most expensive grocery store trips ($70 for one bag). But even without those, we spent far more money than usual even as we prepared all but two of our meals at home. It’s safe to say that eating 100 percent local all the time isn’t financially viable for my household.
Fortunately, I don’t think that’s the point, and it’s certainly not what I’m taking away from the Eat Local Challenge. The main lesson, and the one I hope sticks with me, is that it’s important to know where your food comes from, and that should be factored into your decisions.
I had a similar epiphany a few years ago. I was working as a cashier in a delicious Greek deli and grocery store in Boston when I spent a month as a full vegan — that means eating no animal products of any kind. It was only a temporary challenge, but it made me look at the ingredients on the back of the box for the first time in my life. I haven’t stopped since, and I think that’s a good thing.
Just like there are many benefits to being aware of your food’s ingredients and nutritional information, there are lots of good reasons to eat locally grown food.
It creates local jobs. It keeps money circulating in the local economy instead of taking a one-way ticket back to the mainland or to a foreign country. It supports local agricultural operations that we’d need to survive if the boats ever stop coming in the event of an emergency. It reduces our reliance on fossil fuels to bring our food across 2,500 miles of ocean. It keeps us in close connection with our farmers so we can know how our food is grown.
I know I can’t keep up the 100 percent challenge. But I can try to choose the locally-grown or locally-made product at the grocery store whenever feasible. I can ask waiters and waitresses if the ingredients in my food are local. I can make “local-ness” one of the criteria I weigh when making purchase decisions. If all of us can do that, together we can change the world.
Where does your food come from?
