Eating Locally- Day 2

First of all, two quick notes. One, I was unable to locate my notebook that contains the prices I paid for all of the food that I’ll be eating this week. For those of you that are interested, I’ll look again tomorrow and let you know if I find it. Two, I actually purchased an additional item yesterday that I forgot to mention, eight ounces of honey from Mason’s own Environmental Studies on the Piedmont program.

Now, let me say, I’m eating well; I definitely have more than enough to eat and what I’m eating seems to be nutritiously complete (and delicious). That being said, even though this is only my second day of this experiment, there are certainly at least a few things that I already miss. First and foremost, I miss bread. I love bread. I have five favorite foods: mashed potatoes, blueberries, potato chips, nachos, and bread. I was definitely expecting to be able buy bread at the market yesterday, but the bread vendors were unfortunately not there. Not eating bread for a week will be a big adjustment for me. I also miss hot sauce. Especially Sriacha hot sauce. Oh well.

In any case, it occurred to me that although this is day two, I neglected to write about what I actually ate yesterday. For lunch, I had part of an apple. For dinner, I fried half of a tomato along with three eggs and some cheddar cheese, and added some fresh basil for flavor; essentially it was scrambled eggs with tomatoes, basil, and cheese. All of it was quite good, maybe even delicious.

Today, I finished the apple that I started at lunch yesterday for breakfast. For lunch, I had a peach and two of the 12 eggs that I hard-boiled last night. Dinner consisted of three more scrambled eggs; this time with tomatoes, peppers, basil, rosemary, thyme, and some cheddar cheese. I also harvested a whole bunch of tomatoes from my garden that I used to make a tomato soup of sorts. Essentially I diced about 12 smallish tomatoes that I fried in butter along with the fresh herbs. The result was a watery substance that I liken to a cross between soup, stew and spaghetti sauce. It was so good that I had two bowls.

As I started with, I’m eating plenty of good food and I have absolutely no reason to complain. Regardless of the fact that I’m lacking a few things that I’m accustomed to and might want, I’m acutely aware of the privilege that I have. I already realize that this experiment will not turn out the way that I expected, however, I think that it will end up being much more interesting than I expected. Check back tomorrow for further insights.

Eating Locally- Day 1

So, it's day one and I'm in for an interesting week. Today's market had far less vendors, therefore far less variety, than I expected. What I did expect, considering the point in the Virginia growing season we are in, was a plethora of fresh vegetables. Instead, what I got was tomatoes, apples, peaches, eggs, cheese, butter and yogurt. That’s seven ingredients for the week. What I was hoping for included, at least, onions, peppers, beets, lettuce, collards, garlic, squash, zucchini, cucumbers, green beans, eggplants, and maybe even potatoes and melons; all things that I thought I could reasonably expect. The only produce that was offered today that I didn't purchase was raspberries and blackberries.

I thought that this week was going to be easy. And I say that fully well aware of the fact that I'm quite lucky to have food in the first place. All I'm trying to say is that I was hoping that I'd have a few more ingredients to live off of for the next week than the seven that I bought at the farmers' market and the few that I have at home. Speaking of which, as mentioned in yesterday's post, I do have a few things that I can add to my diet for the week. Those things include many more tomatoes, a few more peppers, two or three onions, three small beets, two small eggplants and three or four small potatoes. Luckily I also have basil, rosemary and thyme. Not including salt, the one thing that I’m adding to this experiment, I have 15 ingredients to subsist on for the week. Again, and I can’t stress this enough, I realize what a privilege it is to have such easy access to food.

Before I go on, I want to briefly write about food justice. I’ll expand upon this more later in the week, but for now, suffice it to say, that I am writing this mostly for people that don’t consider their own ability to access food on a daily basis. By conducting this experiment, I’m attempting to document my experience from the perspective of people that have almost complete access to just about any type of food whenever she or he so chooses; myself included. Eating 15 items during the course of the week will be a challenge when juxtaposed next to my ability to go the neighborhood supermarket, which in my case is less than a mile away, and buy food, quite literally, from around the world. Again, I’ll write more about this as the week progresses.

To end day one, I’ll give you some specifics. Today I bought three dozen eggs, or the equivalent of about five eggs a day (that’s a lot). I bought a pound of butter, 44 ounces of yogurt and approximately a pound and a half of cheese, Cheddar and Monterey Jack. I also purchased exactly five tomatoes, five peaches, and seven apples. I took notes as I was buying all of this, unfortunately, I left those notes at work and I’m now at home so I’ll let you know exactly how much these items cost on Thursday. (It was about $70.)

Oh, and just because I’m curious as to how this may or may not effect my weight, I weighed myself before I started. With my shoes off, clothes on, and pockets empty I weigh about 208 pounds; a good 30 pounds more than I’d like. With luck, this week will help me shed that unwanted baggage. Somehow, the thought of eating five eggs a day makes me doubt it…

Eating Locally- An Experiment

Starting tomorrow, August 19, 2009, I will attempt to only eat food that comes from the George Mason University Farmers’ Market or food that I have grown myself. The purpose of this experiment is two-fold; first of all, I want to find out first-hand how difficult it is to subsist on a local diet. Secondly, I’d like to support the farmers’ market, and by extension, its farmers, by drawing attention to it. The only exception to getting food either from the market or from my yard will be salt. Also, since this farmer’s market sells prepared foods such as soups and pies in addition to vegetables and dairy products, I need to decide whether or not I will include those in my diet. Although these foods are prepared locally, the ingredients in the food is not necessarily sourced locally. I suppose that since this is my first such attempt at such a feat, I will include some of these prepared foods. If all goes well, I’ll attempt it again without the soups and pies.

While I’m not a strict vegan, I am a diehard vegetarian and I try to eat as few dairy products as possible. That said, I’m confident that I’ll will in fact be eating a lot of dairy products this week. Eggs, butter, and yogurt will certainly be a large part of my diet. I normally only eat two meals a day, lunch and dinner, and often only eat one, dinner, however, during this week I will try and eat a full three meals per day as I’ve heard it’s better for me.

Since, to the chagrin of the home owners association that rules my neighborhood like a feudal lord, I have a small garden at home, I will be able to supplement what I purchase at the market with my own vegetables and herbs. This season I have tomatoes, peppers, some onions, beets and a few eggplants and potatoes. I also have basil, rosemary and thyme.

I realize that this whole endeavor has some flaws, the largest of which being that even if I succeed in only eating locally grown food for a week, implying that I could do it for longer, this would only hold true for a few months of the year. Having a truly local diet (in northern Virginia) for a sustained period of time would obviously be much more difficult in the colder months. In any case, as stated previously, this is an experiment so I’ll learn what I can from it. I’ll be sharing my thoughts and observations throughout the week via this blog and I definitely welcome comments, questions, and criticisms. With hope, at the end of the week I’ll have inspired at least one person, myself, to make locally grown food as big a part of my diet as possible.

STEP program a huge success!

Last month, two dozen students, including nine students from Mason, traveled to Prince William Forest, part of the National Park System, right outside of Washington, D.C. to take part in a weeklong training in environmental protection. During the week the students learned how to create a successful group that will be able to run and manage effective environmental campaigns on their campus. The program, called the Student Training for Environmental Protection (STEP), was run by the George Mason University Office of Sustainability.

See our event video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHgVJQbMqyo

The program focused on giving students the skills and knowledge they need to create the change that will turn passion for the environment into action that will protect it. Some of the workshops that were covered include: Recruiting, Leadership Development, Coalition Building, Campaign Planning, Event Planning, as well as, Public Speaking, How to get Media Attention, Message Development, Lobbying, and Anti-oppression..

The week culminated in a trip to Capitol Hill where students met with representatives of their Senator’s staff to ask for their support of an improved American Clean Energy and Security Act. Altogether, over 30 young people from nine states and Puerto Rico participated in the training and met with their Congressional staff to ask for a stronger climate bill.

Following in the footsteps of Power Shift 2009, the George Mason University Student Training for Environmental Protection program allowed the participants to create bonds with other student organizers from around the country while being trained and empowered with the skills needed to be part of the movement that solves climate change, environmental injustice, and economic failure.

With hope, we plan on having follow up events in the near future. Information will be posted soon.

-Colin


P.S. Here are some things that participants had to say about STEP:

If I went into STEP with any expectations, I definitely came out of STEP blown away because it far exceeded any expectations I had. I learned more in a week than I have in previous years of my life. STEP was a truly incredible experience with incredible people. You learn so much about yourself, about others, and really how to make a difference in your community, on your campus, and when you are around others. If you are looking to really learn about environmental leadership and activism, as well as a little bit more about yourself, then STEP is for you. You will have fun, meet great people, and learn how to empower yourself in the world around you.
-Ashley Mott, George Mason University Graduate Student

This single event has been one of the most empowering experiences of my life, I've already started to organize events and actually get things done! Thank you!
-Odessa Knipp, Virginia Wesleyan Class of 2009

STEP really allowed me to connect with other organizers from across the
country and beyond. I was able to learn from their experiences and build
wonderful new relationships. It's amazing what we could accomplish in one
week and I can't wait to hear about what we are all able to accomplish with the support and knowledge we all got from STEP.
-Molly Shea, Ohio University Class of 2010

Mason Spotlighted by Earth First!

Apparently Earth First!, the sometimes controversial but always awesome environmental organization, thinks that Mason is doing a pretty good job when it comes to saving the world. Yesterday I received a forwarded message containing the following link:

http://earthfirst.com/green-college-spotlight-george-mason-university/

According to Earth First! "By far, the most impressive aspect of George Mason’s sustainability efforts thus far is its student, faculty and staff participation in green efforts."

Way to go Mason! Pretty soon we will be "the greenest of the green".