Foodie economics

[docscarabus]

   Fully realized, that [locavore]  ideal would eliminate one of the great culinary advances of the past half century. Unripe peaches notwithstanding, today's supermarket produce departments are modern marvels. American grocery shoppers have choices that would have been unimaginable only a few decades ago. When I was growing up in the 1960s and

Comments

[amritarosa]

Have you read Pollan's Omnivore's Dilemma or In Defense of Food?
I read both of those over the summer and enjoyed them a lot. I already try to eat locally/regionally as much as is reasonable (I still drink coffee, love avocados and refuse to give up olive oil) but now pay a bit more attention to things like the origins of the apples I get (NO New Zealand or Chinese apples, thank you- one from Washington will do just fine) and have switched to grass fed meat.

Also checked out Barbara Kingsolver's Animal Vegetable Miracle for a homey-er take on the local & seasonal eating experiment. Pretty good.

[docscarabus]

Read them both, I'm a Pollan disciple. But I do have concerns, which the article addresses. The article's conclusion is pretty awesome:

"The local-food movement's ideological parochialism would be dangerous if it were somehow enacted into law. But as persuasion, it tends to focus on the positive: the delights of local peaches and fresh cider, not the imagined evils of Chilean blueberries and prepeeled baby carrots. In this regard, it resembles the English Arts and Crafts movement of the late 19th century. William Morris, who is remembered today more for his wallpaper and book designs than for his social theories, didn't manage to overturn the industrial revolution. But he and his allies left a legacy of beautiful things. Pleasure is persuasive."

[rikibeth]

By the late 1970s, it was certainly possible to get pomegranates in the Boston area -- my grandmother made a point of getting one for my uncle every Rosh Hashanah.