Local Food and Gardening For Yuppies

So I was procrastinating writing my thesis (what else is new) and reading The New York Times this morning when I came across this article, A Locally Grown Diet With Fuss but No Muss. The article calls these people, "lazy locavores"--people who want to eat local and from their own garden, but "don't have time" or don't want to actually get their hands dirty. For a hefty fee, this guy from San Francisco will come to your home, build you a garden, weed it, water it, and even harvest it--leaving your box of veggis on your back porch all ready for you to eat. My immediate reaction was astonishment followed by a chuckle...followed by some pondering--hence this blog post.



So, essentially "local" food is super trendy at the moment. I have posted before on the topic of "locavores" and and locally grown food. In theory it is a great idea. I am all for de-centralizing our food supply. Obtaining our food from smaller, more local farms/ranches/producers/etc. will not only make massive outbreaks of salmonella and e coli less likely, but also will make the the country a safer place. Michael Pollan has warned that the centralized and industrial nature of our food system is extremely vulnerable to a bio-terrorist attack-- it is really a threat to our national security (but this is a topic for a whole new post). Also, local food is healthier. The less time between the soil and the plate, the more nutrients the food has. Thirdly, local food tastes better--it can be picked when it is ripe and ready to eat, as opposed to being picked way too early so that it can be trucked or flown across the country. And finally, I can't forget to mention that local food supports small local farms and ranches, keeping communities alive, vibrant, and diverse. So, the bottom line is that I am all in favor of local food--in moderation.

Like I have said, I see no problem with importing cocoa, spices, tea, etc. People have imported and traded these types of food for hundred of years. What I think is silly is flying highly perishable produce half way across the world just so that people can eat strawberries and asparagus in December. What is even more silly is when these Chilean strawberries and asparagus are organic, because it doesn't really matter that they were grown without chemicals when you consider how much fuel it takes to fly them to the US--not to mention the pollution spewing out the back of the jet plane. So yes, bottom line...local food in moderation...good. Buying your food directly from local farmers at a farmers' market...great! Gardening and growing your own food...awesome!!! The coolest part about growing your own food is that not only do you really appreciate your food (it is hard work after all, and you literally get to eat the fruits of your labor), but gardening forces you to take some time out of your day to slow down and and connect with the earth--detach from the fast paced, supersonic lifestyle that so many people get caught up in today. I am sure there are tons of studies that show the stress-relief benefits of a hobby like gardening.

So, when I see that New York yuppies are paying people to plant, tend to, and harvest gardens in their back yard because they are "too busy" to garden themselves, I really really start to wonder about this country. My immediate reaction to reading this article was to think that this phenomenon is so typically American--feeling guilty about the environment, and wanting live the healthiest lifestyle, but not wanting to put in any effort--so whip out the credit card and pay someone else to do it! When yuppies pay people to plant and harvest their gardens for them, and pay personal chefs to cook and shop at farmers markets for them they loose sight of the big picture--that there really is more to eating local and gardening that just the food. People loose sight of the idea that food forms a community and connects people to their environment.

However, then I step back and think...I suppose it is still technically better for the environment when New Yorkers pay to have gardens planted for them as opposed to buying into the industrial food system. So am I being overly cynical in criticizing these New Yorkers? Am I being overly idealistic to think that people would actually plant gardens themselves? I am not sure...reading this story really annoyed me, but maybe my reaction is not justified....