challenge: reducing petroleum footprint on food - 1 meal/week

[homestead holdout]

Of course the idea comes from Barbara Kingsolver but try it... Try to see if you can eat just 1 meal / week with either zero or as close to zero as you can get, petroleum impact... It's HARD!
Today however, I ate ham, eggs, toast and salsa with LOW petroleum impact (my Dad did use his truck to deliver the ham, but he got it from a local/neighbor pig farmer). I used my stove to cook... It's electric so I used hydro not fossil fuel, but I'm not sure if there is petro somewhere in that process, I dont think so.... None the less, I think my salad for dinner will be the winner! I guess I will have to leave out the glass of pinot from CA I was going to have though!

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Americans put almost as much fossil fuel into our refrigerators as our cars.

If every US citizen ate just one meal per week (any meal) composed of locally and organically raised meats and produce, we would reduce the country's oil comsumption by over 1.1 million barrels of oil every week. - Steven Hopp

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[farmerlor]

That's a good idea! Unfortunately, all of the canned produce I'm so proud of is canned using a gas stove. Hmmmmm, this will take some thought.
My new bumper sticker is going to be "The US has one fifth of the world population but uses 1/3 of the world resources and produces more than 1/2 it's waste-think about it."

 

[homestead holdout]

create that one (bumper sticker) and I'll put it on my car (and mountain bike) too!!!

Yeah, I find it very hard to get all the way past fossil fuel use. But with stats like those that Steven Hopp has found, even getting as close as you can x alot of people could make a significant impact! Please stay VERY PROUD of your canned produce!!! That rocks!

 

[Iceblink]

About 60% of the food we eat comes from within 2 hours drive. Most of it is even closer, but still about 40% is not grown in the midwest. My 'holdouts' are pretty much the same as the ones the Kingsolver-Hopp family had in their book. Grains, oil, spices, occasional exotic fruits, chocolate, tea.

Since commiting to eat more locally, our diet has become much healthier, and more varied. I like the way the author of 'Plenty' talks about how a local diet has so many MORE things in it than a petroleum sodden diet.

 

[Woodland Woman]

Petroleum? What about petroleum in food? That's what came to mind when I saw your post. Most food colorings and flavorings are made from petroleum. Mainly from China I believe.

 

[homestead holdout]

Petroleum? What about petroleum in food? That's what came to mind when I saw your post. Most food colorings and flavorings are made from petroleum. Mainly from China I believe.

VERY good point... Whether it's Petroleum used to transport and package food or petroleum actually IN food, it is something to be considered!

 

[homestead holdout]

About 60% of the food we eat comes from within 2 hours drive. Most of it is even closer, but still about 40% is not grown in the midwest. My 'holdouts' are pretty much the same as the ones the Kingsolver-Hopp family had in their book. Grains, oil, spices, occasional exotic fruits, chocolate, tea.

Since commiting to eat more locally, our diet has become much healthier, and more varied. I like the way the author of 'Plenty' talks about how a local diet has so many MORE things in it than a petroleum sodden diet.

NICE!!! I was really hoping there are people like you out there and that there will be many, many more!

 

[freemotion]

Whoa, I would find it very difficult to have a zero petroleum meal, and that is just sad. But I do more than that over the course of each week with all the home-grown stuff, and cook on the woodstove as much as possible all winter long. I try to buy more locally, too, and there is no petroleum in my milk, yogurt, kefir, or cheese, and some of my butter. Reduced petroleum in my eggs, because I buy my grain from the farmer most of the time, and don't make a special trip to do so. But they use fossil fuels to plant and harvest it.....yikes. Makes my head spin...... :/

 

[dragonlaurel]

Our farmers market insists on the food being produced locally. I'm going there more often. Decided to buy good produce deals there and preserve it for winter.

 

[big brown horse]

It will take a lot of careful planning and thought...but I will take on this challenge. One meal per week right?

Be back later with my results.

(We grow some of our own food, barter with neighbors for more. There is a wonderful farmer's market open 1/2 the year daily that we get all of our other locally (90% organic grown) produce.)