I've been thinking more about Patti's great post on experiencing one's terroir firsthand...
This morning, after my Pilates class (hu-llo, suburban stereotype!), I made a trip to my local weekly farmer's market. It's newish, actually...only set up within the last year. I must confess that I was positively elated to see it pop up, especially given how much I used to frequent this other market in Louisiana which I watched morph from a few small tables to a mighty, wonderful thing.
When we moved back to Texas almost three years ago, I kinda went into shock without a market in place. Honestly, given that I was pregnant at the time...and then raising a kid...I didn't think too deeply about the "whys" of the local market dearth. I just shrugged it off that no one was interested.
I was wrong. There was much more at play.
While researching this story, I interviewed a marvelous local activist/historian/former PBS producer/jack-of-all-trades named Marlene Richardson. She made a remark in passing that was both obvious and profound: my neck of the woods is cattle and horse land because the soil is so very poor. All the traditional vegetable farming takes place on the other side of town, where you can find things like peas and strawberries growing profusely.
In fact, my local market...and another nearby one held twice a month...are populated by farmers and bread bakers and plant growers who must drive a good distance to reach me...so they are "close" to my terroir, but still a bit removed.
That remark is made not to slight the market at all...or the organizer behind it...it's just to illustrate that we need to re-think the standard, simplified "oh, just buy local if you want to do your part" mindset found in the mainstream media. In fact, the demand for local food has grown so much here that the farmers are having to pick and choose among the many small markets that have popped up. I'm almost certain that if everyone in a 100-mile radius were to go locavore suddenly...on a whim or in response to, say, a national or natural disasters...we'd have trouble.
We really do have to close some major gaps to make "fresh and local" truly viable.
You see, since my micro-climate has some fundamental "issues," I actually have to put forth some personal effort in order to truly transform into a locavore (or even a decent semi-locavore). There's drought, heat, caliche clay, chunks of limestone, lack of shade...so on and so forth. Which is why I have a raised potager-style bed for my veggies...at least I can control the dirt and use some shadecloth. I simply can't imagine doing that on a big enough scale to have ample amounts of veggies to sell at market. It would be cost prohibitive, I think.
Historically speaking about these parts...enriching the soil on a big scale, using shadecloth and experimenting with other approaches were not an option for the many European settlers who came to these parts, who for the most part kept their traditional agricultural practices in tact. For a marvelous academic account of these pioneers' efforts, please see German Seed in Texas Soil: Immigrant Farmers in Nineteenth-Century Texas. Having just thumbed through it at a bookstore, I feel validated anew in my home garden approach. I mean if a smart professor said my earth is nearly too rough to tend let alone mend, then...it just is. And while goats and cows are cute...and popular here...not only have I been there/done that with their raising....well, my homeowner's association would definitely balk if I were to truly embrace my terroir's best agricultural options. (I could try grapes, I guess...our neighbors are about to have a bumper crop on their patio.)
Mind you, I'm not alone in facing challenges to my efforts to obtain locavore cred...for all the press granted local food (farmer's markets, community supported agriculture (CSA) programs, community gardens, etc.), for some of us...it's a pain in the patootie to acquire, meriting as much a consumption of gas as going to the market. I'm also not the first blogger to note this fact, as Rose Hayden-Smith's recent post demonstrates:
We are buying more of our food directly from farmer's stands in our area, which is certainly a cheaper, fresher and more sustainable alternative than the chain grocery store. But that's an option that many Americans don't have.
Hayden-Smith, a historian and West Coast proponent of the nascent Victory Garden rebirth, goes on to remind us that home gardening is very much a part of the solution. In fact, for some of us...it could be the primary answer to rising food costs. Yet that requires more media...and perhaps even the government...to make the matter a top priority.
Essentially, a lot of us would-be locavores need education...and encouragement...to dig deep for good ideas that will help us create real, healthy and sustainable solutions for our families. Hayden-Smith is actually at work on such an endeavor right now...here's hoping it works.
We really do need help across the nation--no, planet--lest we run into grave problems soon...oh wait, they've already begun.
We don't have a moment to spare.
For further exploration:
- Check out Local Harvest, which has a map on their main page illustrating how half the country has issues in accessing locally grown food. You can also use the site to locate (and review) farmer's market and CSA efforts by area.
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