Eating Locally - A Rant

We have all heard that eating locally is good for us and the environment, right? Right. The problem is, it is not always an option and I am tired of feeling like crap because of it.

I live in Mississippi. Mississippi, people. Down here, ask for a vegetable and you will get breaded, deep fried okra. Ask for fruit and you will get deep fried apple fritters. I am not even lucky enough to live in Jackson, where they at least have descent grocery stores and a co-op. Nope. I live in small town Mississippi, where the best produce available to us is at Sam's club.

The closest CSA is 1 1/2 hours from me. What kind of environmental damage would I be doing if I drove 1 1/2 hours to pick up my locally grown vegetables? Isn't the whole point of eating locally to minimize the impact of shipping your food? Wouldn't it be better to ship enough food to fill the produce section of my local grocery store that it would be to ship enough produce to feed my family?

We have a farmer's market, but I am told it isn't even worth going to unless you are looking for tomatoes and greens. I don't know if that is true, because every time I have gone, there has been no one there.

I also live in an apartment with a balcony that gets just about no sunlight. Growing food is not an option for me. I would be lucky to grow a few herbs, but that's about it.

So I guess what I am saying is this - some of us are trying, people. Not everyone has access to fresh fruits and vegetables that were grown within 50 miles of where they live. Not everyone has access to a CSA or farmer's markets that are overflowing with inexpensive, fresh grown produce. Cut us some slack, please.

~fin~

Photo Credits:
Grocery store
Vegetables