Rediscover Real Food

Local eating offers many choices for sustainable nutrition. The following is from an article I contributed to Milwaukee's Live Local campaign newsletter, Vol 1...

As we unfurl from our wintry hibernation, our senses take in the sights and sounds of spring: birds singing, ice melting, trees budding, sap flowing... life is asserting itself. The awakening season provides us inspiration to reflect on the source of our food. Do we enjoy regional cuisine, grown by people we know, or are we eating anonymous, industrialized food?

There are so many reasons to eat local: smaller carbon footprint, support of the local economy, and strong community to name a few. But also important is the unavoidably intimate truth that we become what we eat. Thus our relationship with food and its origins deserves attention.

Spring is a time of new beginnings. Fiddleheads, wild ramps, violets, asparagus, spring greens, morels all make their emergence in the hills and waysides. Streams run high with trout, wild turkey season opens... and for those of us who hunt or gather for our food in supermarkets, we can certainly enjoy some local flavors while we wait for the season to unfold and plan our local eating for the year ahead. As demand grows, local markets stock more and more Wisconsin products, such as cheeses and preserves, so they are available year round. The local food movement is growing by leaps and bounds in Milwaukee and beyond.

Bottom Line:
Learning about local eating in your area can benefit your health and your community. For more information, visit the websites EatLocalMilwaukee and LiveLocalMilwaukee. For national information, try the 100-mile Diet, Food Routes, the Sustainable Table, Slow Food USA, or Local Harvest.