Whence your Christmas dinner?
appreciative of the relationships in their life. While this
generally refers to friends and family, it could also apply to your
relationship with food and where your meals come from.
At Christmas dinner, and any other American meal for that matter, chances are the average distance the food on your plate has traveled is 1400 miles. Opponents say this is too far because the transport unnecessarily uses up petroleum resources.
The concept of food of miles has gained credence in recent years as consumers and non-profit groups in particular have become aware and critical of the burden their eating habits may be placing on the environment.
Trying to eat closer to home is a gradual process, say supporters of the movement, but it may as well start with Christmas dinner. The answer is simple say some.
"Eat locally," Eric Holt-Gimenez, executive direct of the Institute for Food Development and Policy in California, told NutraIngredients-USA.com . He recommends farmers' markets, community-supported agriculture and urban gardens for a start.
Community-supported agriculture refers to agreements between farmers and consumers, whereby the consumer pays up front for a weekly supply of local produce that is in-season. While urban gardens refer to communal gardens for growing vegetables in the city.
"The biggest issue with food miles is their effect on the environment and the fact that they contributes to carbon in the atmosphere and make our food system even more dependent on petroleum," said Holt-Gimenez.
The Soil Association in the United Kingdom estimates typical ingredients for Christmas dinner can travel up to 40,000 miles to the British dinner table. According to Holt-Gimenez, the long networks from producer to table favor the dominance of agri-food giants.
"They are both rewarded and able to control the food system because they have the capacity to move large volumes over great distances," said Holt-Gimenez. "This concentrates wealth in a few agrifood giants."
For consumer to try to live differently through their eating and shopping habits, they have to get a new independent perspective on food, said Holt-Gimenez.
"In a sense this means stepping back from that system and creating a relationship that is more between producer and consumer."
British nutritional consultant Pamela Mason recommended to NutraIngredients-USA.com that people make as much of their own Christmas dinner as possible - from cranberry sauce to dessert - in order to be able to control the source of their ingredients as much as possible.
"Ask your local grocer or farmer's market where your produce comes from," said Mason.
However, Mason added that eating local and fresh ingredients does not necessarily mean eating healthier, nor is it possible to source all your ingredients from nearby. In some cases, broccoli, for instance, has been shown to become more nutritious the longer it sits for.
Spices are often sourced from other continents, said Mason. So, when possible, she advised, concerned consumers can opt for fair trade products that claim to support a more equitable distribution of revenue to local workers in developing countries.
