By JUDITH NEARY
In the Northwest and here on Vashon, we are increasingly embracing a locavore lifestyle, eating local foods to support the local economy and benefit the environment. But eating locally grown food is no modern notion. In fact, Napoleon Bonaparte and Clarence Birdseye forever changed the course of our culture and lifestyle.
Two events separated by 100 years contributed to the change from the farm-to-table culture of their time to the farm-to-factory-to-freeway distribution of food that we see today.
Bonaparte could only advance his armies as far as food rations would allow. So in 1795 he sponsored a contest for food preservation, which spurred an idea that eventually led to the Mason canning jar.
Clarence Birdseye, an inventor from New York, was later inspired to develop flash-freezing techniques after observing Inuit ice fishing. Today that technology allows us to enjoy “fresh, previously frozen” tuna from Samoa.
Fresh, previously frozen tuna from Samoa in the grocery store was the catalyst that forever changed the course of my food buying habits. I live on Vashon, where “live locally” is not only our community’s daily mantra, it is a state of mind. One in every three cars in line for the ferry is a Prius, and if you are at the four-way stop in town, the default right of way goes to the car that runs on recycled cooking oil. As I picked up the piece of tuna from Samoa that was wrapped in plastic and on a Styrofoam tray, I started to think about what it took to get that $6 piece of fish to the island market. The mindset of a culture that supports purchasing tuna that is airfreighted from Samoa is sheer insanity. I put the fish back and bought locally farmed — that’s right, farmed — salmon.
Here in the Northwest, the locavore lifestyle has been around since the late 1970s and early 80s. It never was a trend; it was a consciousness embraced by people who asked what was available from local farms. Local restaurateurs have embraced this philosophy as well and have a devoted following of customers. The grand daddy of locavorism is The Herbfarm in Woodinville. The Herbfarm’s annual 100-Mile Dinner features nine courses of food, including wine, with all ingredients originating within a 100-mile radius.
I try to eat locally when I can, but I will confess that around February, when the Northwest winters take their toll on my attitude, I will buy oranges from California. I resist the strawberries as I will wait for the ones that are grown locally in the summer. Avocados, however, are my karmic downfall. I just cannot resist fresh guacamole on my fish tacos.
A friend in the community raises turkeys. Starting in late September, he starts feeding them apples from his trees. By the time November rolls around and they are scheduled for the dinner table, their meat is flavored with the taste and smell of Washington apples. The one drawback is that he started naming them after famous baseball players. Ichiro is still around, but Ken Griffey Jr. is gone from the team.
While we live in a unique community and embrace the lifestyle and culture of being a locavore, not everyone has that luxury. I consciously rethink my food purchases and have enjoyed the challenges of cooking seasonal offerings from my garden or the local farmers market. In the truest sense, I am a foodie and a locavore, so that makes me a “foodavore.” With that said, can anyone give me some suggestions on a menu that includes Walla Walla sweet onions, Yakima cherries, coho salmon and wild fennel?
— Judith Neary is a certified master kitchen and bath designer who owns a design studio in downtown Vashon.
