Eating Local in B.C.

I found this great film about Pemberton B.C. that was part of the Whistler Film Festival, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTcDA9AYanM

It reminds viewers that the future of food is local and eating local promotes a process of reconnection with the land we live in and the people who produce our food.

The Slow Food Cycle event promotes the community to see the local farms as well as local farmers to see those who are interested in Slow Food.  Slow Food is an international organization with the philosophy: Everyone has the fundamental right to pleasure and consequently the responsibility to protect the heritage of our food, tradition, and culture make this pleasure possible.  All food should be good, clean, and fair food.  Today there are more than 85,000 members in 132 countries who participate in Slow Food.  Slow Food uses events and initiatives to defend biodiversity in our food supply, spread taste education, and connect producers of foods with co-producers.  Their web site and ideas are amazing and you can join the group here!

Another interesting group talked about is the 100 mile diet.  The diet was begun by Alisa Smith and J.B. MacKinnon as an experiment to eat food that only came from within a 100 mile radius for one year.  100 miles is far enough to reach beyond the big cities and small enough to be truly local.  The web site gives 13 reasons why to eat local.  The 100 mile diet is an amazing challenge, a Seattleite would be restricted from the Pacific Ocean to Yakima and Longview to the Canadian boarder.  You can find your 100 miles on there site here.  Whether or not if you participate in the strict 100 mile diet it is in your best interest to check out these web sites and eat local trends.  Even if you make a small change in your lifestyle you will be benefiting the planet, local economy, and most importantly yourself.

- Alec Haberman