They are a staple on my weekly grocery list, a highly nutritious food, convenient to pack in workday lunches but should I be eating bananas? What about pineapple? Trendy pomegranates? Strawberries in early May?
Those are all foods that 'they' say we should be eating, right? (being a dietitian, I realize I am included the aforementioned 'they') But I live in Wisconsin where there are no banana trees nearby, no pineapple and certainly no pomegranates within a 200 mile radius. Strawberries, on the other hand, can be cultivated in our short growing season. But Thompson's Strawberry Farm, which is 30 miles away, has a sign posted that says I have to wait until mid-June to 'pick my own' from their 'pick your own'.
But I wanted sweet juicy strawberries to go with the lemon pound cake that I served for Mother's Day yesterday so I bought a quart from my local grocery store, direct from California, where much of our produce comes from. To my disappointment, these trans-continental berries were anything but juicy and longed for a sprnkle of sugar to make up for their lack of natural sweetness.
Barbara Kingsolver, mother, adventurous gardener and author of Animal, Vegetable, Miracle writes passionately about putting food back into the center of family life - from growing your own, buying locally and taking the time to make a meal that is shared with family and friends. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle chronicles the year she and her family vowed to "buy only food raised in their own neighborhood, grow it themselves, or learn to live without it". It's very entertaining and really makes you think about how little thought we give to the groceries we put in our cart even though food is such an important part of our well-being, culture and community. Most of us don't know how far our food has traveled to reach us, how it was grown or who grew it. Perhaps if we did we'd be making different choices.