106CSA BOXES
Community-supported
agriculture (CSA) boxes began
in Japan in the 1970s. Mothers
became concerned about the
mysterious provenance of foods
they were buying to feed their
children. They connected with
nearby farmers to access locally
grown, freshly picked fruits
and vegetables, one box at a
time. With a goal of “putting
the farmer’s face on the food,”
the program has become
increasingly popular, especially
in North America.100-mile diet for a year. I shy
away from such self-sacrifice,
and simply cannot give up sweet
B.C. peaches, grown 400 km away
from where I live. Only 5 percent
of beautiful British Columbia is
arable, and I do not intend to miss
out on what is grown anywhere
on our farmland in this province.
I love it all.
I prefer the gentler definitions
of “locavore,” based on awareness
and good intentions. Not
everything that crosses my lips
comes from B.C. The tea I’m
drinking as I write this comes
from across an ocean—not
from the leaves of a bush in
my backyard. I concur with
environmentalist Bill McKibben,
who coined the “Marco Polo
rule”: If a food not grown here
(like tea, exotic spices, coffee
and rice) could withstand a long
sea voyage hundreds of years
ago, it passes muster; however, if
something is so perishable that
it must be coddled (refrigerated)
and rushed (by truck or plane) to
get to the produce section, then it
is off the table for Bill, and most
of the time, it is for me as well.
That holds true especially if it is
grown nearby—even in another
season. Why buy it from there if it
grows here?
“Eating is an agricultural act,”
says author and farmer Wendell
Berry. Thinking about who grows
our food, where it comes from
and how it gets to our plates
anchors us to our place in the
world, increases appreciation for
our farmers and farmland, and
inspires gratitude for the miracle
of nature that feeds us. HFOOD & RECIPES: LOCAVORES