Update: Eating for the Earth

One of the things I mentioned when I first set out on this 50 Week Challenge was my goal to eat (live, really) in a way that supports environmental sustainability. Having said that, I chose the worst time of year to try and eat locally in Vancouver. Through February and March, there is very little produce available in BC that is locally grown and in season because... well, it's friggin' cold.
I can see that the summer months and beyond will be a lot better for fruits and vegetables in general but unless I am willing to reduce my vegetable intake to potatoes and garlic (not that I am opposed to a generous helping of garlic mashed), I may need to re-think this approach for the colder months. Canned and frozen is one way to go, especially because there are so many options now for buying organic. From everything I have read, most frozen fruit and vegetables aren't any lower in nutrients than fresh so at least you aren't sacrificing anything by buying frozen.
It's funny because I instinctively feel like buying frozen is not as healthy as fresh and yet when I walk through the supermarket now and see all the fruit available, I know that none of it is actually in season here.
The other thing I am considering is stocking up on organic fruits in the months they ARE available locally and doing my own canning... This will definitely require some more research on my part and probably some trial and error once it does become available.
Now that I am trying to buy organic and our budget it really tight, I am really noticing a difference in my shopping bills. I think it has definitely cut back on the amount of meat I am buying and we having more vegetarian meals. Adrian mentions going "Eyelash vegetarian" or "Veg-equarian" every so often (only eating sea food) but I'm not sure how committed he actually is. I used to say that I could never go vegetarian because I base so many of my meals around the easily digestible chicken breasts, but even I have gotten pretty sick of chicken over the last few months. Fresh fish is also something that is more available throughout the summer months, but is also pretty pricey.

As a side note, the organic vegetable market in our neighbourhood recently shut and has been empty for the last little while. This past weekend, Adrian and I were out walking and we noticed that there were some people inside doing renovations. Ranger, our ever popular conversation piece, got the attention of the woman working inside and we ended up chatting. She told us that they are planning to open what sounds like a deli with organic, grass fed Black Angus beef and other locally produced groceries. They are planning to have a smoker and things for people to try their products and are hoping to be up in running by mid-March (though they didn't seem very confident in this timeline). What was most interesting, though, was when they were telling us about how difficult it is for local farmers and people with other ranches, etc to even be able to sell to the public because of government restrictions. Although I was aware of this happening in the US from watching the "Food Inc" documentary (please watch if you haven't already, it's fascinating), I was not aware of how much of it was also affecting Canadians. It sounds like there is just the same amount of red tape and government intervention that prevents small farmers from selling their products and forcing consumers to buy from the big slaughterhouses that are government funded. They were saying, for example, that they have a friend who has a Buffalo ranch and that the only way he can sell the meat is for someone to go to his farm in person and basically purchase an entire Buffalo privately. I may not be the biggest meat eater, but I don't know anyone who is looking to eat an entire Buffalo...
He also said that there is a lot of pressure to sell the animals at auction, where he will take the cows that he has been very particular about raising on grass and without chemicals, etc and they can end up being sold to the highest bidder who is only looking for the lowest price. They will then take that animal, stuff it with the grain and corn products that this rancher has always avoided and undo the years of work he has put into them.
I don't tend to be a very "Stick it to the man!!" kinda girl but knowing how much the government controls (by way of McDonalds) what I put in my body kinda freaks me out. The fact that they are intentionally stopping farmers, ranchers, etc from getting natural, organic products out to consumers is just sick.
Here's the kicker, though: As long as these products are few and far between, they are going to be sold at a premium price. That means that for a lot of people, buying them is just not a choice they have even if they want to support the cause.
If you are interested, here are a few links I've found about eating locally in BC.
Information on proposed changes to the BC Meat Inspection Act that makes it illegal for local farmers to sell their products as they have in the past, click here.

Also check out:
Get Local
Community Farms Program
Certified Organics Association of BC