Local food: guilt-free and easier than you think

Laurel Street is the place to be on Thursday nights now that Hot Harvest Nights have started again. You can sample fruit, buy locally made goodies, and help the environment all at once.
Buying locally grown or made food is one of the easiest, not to mention tastiest, ways to cut down on your carbon footprint. Instead of getting carrots grown hundreds of miles away and then bleached and cut into flavorless pieces you can buy fresh ones grown over in Half Moon Bay by the very same people who sell it to you. It takes a lot less energy to process them because often they aren’t processed, and a lot less energy to transport them to you.
Supporting local growers is easy in the summer when the farmer’s market is right downtown, but it can get trickier in the colder months. There is, however, a year round market at College of San Mateo that’s vibrant even with whipping winds. If you’re at a grocery store you may not be able to find bananas grown up the road, but look at the sticker found on many and try to avoid those grown in South America. If your fruit has travelled more than you ever have just to reach you, consider a seasonal alternative.
Even easier than farmer’s markets are Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) boxes. You can pick to have a box of locally grown produce delivered to your door from once a month to once a week. Many programs allow you to visit the farms where the food is grown, and they provide recipes if you end up with a vegetable you’ve never seen before. Some programs around here include Farm Fresh To You, Herbert Organic Family Farm, High Ground Organics, and TIMPtations. Although alternative produce sources can be expensive, they put you in touch with the seasons, slash carbon emissions, and are often grown using better practices. Plus, you’re helping out your neighbors by supporting their farms. To cut costs, try growing your own garden this summer and cutting your produce carbon to zero
Another big greenhouse gas emitter is meat, especially from cows. Many cows are fed corn, which they are not built to digest. This causes a lot of gas build up, which is released as methane and traps heat in the atmosphere. Many cows are also given antibiotics to prevent infections before they even get any, and subject to other inhumane treatment. This doesn’t mean everyone should be vegetarian. I’m not, and I’m not planning on becoming one. We were built to eat meat, but we don’t need a steak every night, or even every week. Try putting bits of chicken or pork in pasta, salad, or burritos, and using beans for protein. This “flexitarian” diet allows you to have a burger if that’s what you’re craving, but it pushes you to be conscious of the impact your food has. Engage in your community at farmer’s markets, eat seasonally with a CSA box, cut down on meat, and eat well without emissions guilt.