We’ve heard it before, local trumping organic (yes, maybe it is just better to rinse that apple really well instead of paying for an organic apple to be shipped 1500 miles) , “local is a new form of patriotism”, “work locally and you’ll see national change”, etc… and we are going to continue to hear it again.
Consumers want to keep their money close by, they want to make sure they are helping their “neighbors” and they currently don’t trust many large corporations.
I live in a great little neighborhood in Seattle called Wallingford and we’ve now got a fantastic blog: Wallyhood and even our little Sustainable Wallingford site and increasingly we try to bike, walk, wagon everywhere and with summer here we can and we do-even to our local farmer’s market.
Local = wholesome?
Mandy, I buy local and so agree with the idea of doing this rather than purchasing that apple grown 1500 miles away (sorry Washington). I live in Colorado and during the summer, the markets are great, but the winter… well it’s winter and snow, but I joined ‘door to door organic’ which buys local and delivers lots of greens to our school. It’s great.
Ginny??!?! I didn’t see this post until tonight! Hello! Hello! Wow, I also see that Christine posted here as well! Wow.
I hope this finds you well and holding down the fort in Denver. I still think Pat and Dick may end up there someday. All is well in Seattle and so far it seems like a great place for us to raise our family (growing family- expecting my third in April!)… Say hi to Tom for me!
xo
Mandy
Hi Mandy,
So as you know I’m reading up on gardening methods these days. I found this awesome organization–Ecology Action–that has been researching how to build soil while growing food in a sustainable loop. There are also carbon sequestering benefits to building soil because it involves growing compost crops and tilling that carbon-rich plant material into the soil. So, local is the new organic, and growing our own food using soil building techniques could really help…one garden, one block, one neighborhood at a time.
Here’s their website:
http://www.growbiointensive.org/
And a related website for purchasing books, seeds, etc:
http://www.bountifulgardens.org/
-Christine
Christine- I don’t have your email address but would love it! The package arrived and it was amazing to receive. Your super thoughtful letter and the letters you saved- what a treat. I read the letters out loud to my mom on the phone last night- we were cracking up. I owe you a big reply but am not sure when/how I can possibly offer you the richness of what you wrote me. Do give me your email so we can have more regular correspondence. My personal one is: mandy_levenberg@yahoo.com
xoxo
ML