Mindful grocery shopping!

One resolution I have made over time, but that I have not yet tried to adhere to completely, is to buy and eat healthy food: food that is healthy for us because it is organic, and food that is healthier for the land and the economy because it has been produced in sustainable, humane, and healthy circumstances. I try to buy and eat food that is from producers close to home, and in season. I have, in the past, been a member of a CSA, I'm a member of a co-op, and I enjoy shopping at farmers' markets and places where I can meet the growers and talk to them about what they sell. The Twin Cities has wonderful networks for people like me, so even if we don't have the year-round growing season of California, it's possible to eat very well here without buying fruit from Chile. This weekend, I was very glad to notice that without exactly intending to do so, I had managed to buy organic foods that were from local producers: cheese from Wisconsin, root vegetables, Cedar Summit farm milk, Hope Creamery butter and chickens and eggs from Chase Brook Natural Farm's new stand. Even the frozen veg from a Minnesota producer. I haven't taken the locavore "100-mile-diet" pledge, but that chicken sure was delicious (roasted with the root veggies-parsnips, turnips, yellow, purple and orange carrots!). While I don't buy fresh tomatoes in the winter, I do buy some things that would not meet the standards set by Barbara Kingsolver and her family as she describes in her book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, but I figure that moving in that direction is a good thing.

There are folks in Minnesota who are dedicated to helping us think how we can support local farmers, eat healthier and more delicious food, and have to spend a fortune. I discovered The Minnesota Project's webpage today. Here is their mission statement:

The Minnesota Project is a nonprofit organization that connects people with policy to nurture collaborations that build strong local economies, vibrant communities and a healthy environment. Our programs are focused on the development, conservation and efficient use of renewable energy; farm practice and policy that promote profitable farms that protect and replenish the environment; and the production and consumption of local, sustainably grown foods. Through collaborative leadership we demonstrate practical solutions as a basis for future policy. For over twenty-nine years we have fostered local empowerment, bridged diverse interests, encouraged shared values, and initiated working dialogues that create positive action and policy.

What are the local parameters they use? They are not so restrictive as the 100-mile radius idea, but they do emphasize the concept of the region surrounding MN. We bought our produce at the Midtown Global Market's Produce Exchange, dairy and meat from the new and our bulk and frozen stuff from The Wedge Coop. The "Do It Green" site is a goldmine as a database for a person who wants to live, eat, and consume mindfully, with sustainable intention. We will never grow coffee in the upper Midwest, so if I am not ready to give it up (and I am not) I can choose to buy fair trade and sustainably grown coffee or give my business to cafes that use it.

I recently discovered Minnesota's Prairie Organic Vodka (retails for about $25 locally). Good stuff, and a fun website!