Eating Locally

[FLMountainMan]

If forced to eat locally, could you do it? Pretty set here in panhandle Florida. The beef wouldn't be all that great (mostly Brangus to deal with the heat), but local food includes:
stone crab
blue crab
grouper
smoked mullet
apalachicola oysters
mayhaw jelly
tupelo honey
blueberries
blackberries
pecans
corn
peanuts
apples
gator tail
snapper
clams
mussels
heart of palm aka swamp cabbage
raccoon (actually pretty interesting taste)
bay and sea scallops

 

[jpeirpont]

Originally Posted by FLMountainMan

If forced to eat locally, could you do it? Pretty set here in panhandle Florida. The beef wouldn't be all that great (mostly Brangus to deal with the heat), but local food includes: stone crab blue crab grouper smoked mullet apalachicola oysters mayhaw jelly tupelo honey blueberries blackberries pecans corn peanuts apples gator tail snapper clams mussels heart of palm aka swamp cabbage raccoon (actually pretty interesting taste) bay and sea scallops
Yeah I could do it if my list consisted of your items, easy.I don't if know if we produce any beef, in CT. I know a local farm has some pretty good pork that Whole Foods carries occasionally. But overall I could live with fare grow here easily. Mussels, oyster,lobster, crab, wine, strawberrys, apples, many fish, and a reasonable amount of vegetables.

 

[Spatlese]

Good list, FL. Living in the pacific northwest, we could get by fairly well too (if we were to restrict the definition of local, I would need to do some homework, but guessing it would still be a pretty good list).

Here's a site started by a couple who advocated a '100 mile' diet.

 

[FLMountainMan]

I put this together after planning my Valentine's Dinner and subsequent breakfast for my girl: Almost all the ingredients are local (two are coming from my backyard) except, I'm assuming, the bread for toast in the morning, and the wine (Florida wine is pretty lousy - Muscadine, Carlos, and a couple of other minor grapes).

I'm guessing that the Southwest would be the most food-impoverished in the Lower 48. The South, with its tradition of poverty-induced home cooking would probably be in good shape. California would likely eat the best.

 

[chas]

Living in NYC - it would be a breeze. The farmers market in Union Square every saturday is stocked with local produce, seafood and beef. The majority of this comes from the Husdon Valley and Long Island but some comes from New Jersey and Connecticut as well.

 

[Milhouse]

I grew up around Chicago, and I'd have to say it would be difficult due to the severity of the winter. Basically, during the growing season, all the food would have to be preserved somehow to make it through the winter.

Other than that, the variety isn't too bad, although, if everyone was eating locally, I don't know how sustainable it would be. I can recall at farmer's markets having (not necessarily in any order):

berries
squash (many types)
apples (and apple products like cider, apple butter, etc)
peaches
CORN
eggs
honey
cucumbers (and pickles)
bell peppers
hot peppers of various types
tomatoes
onions and garlic

My family still lives there and likes to buy fresh turkey for Thanksgiving. I also know fresh chicken, pork, and beef are available. I guess now there is some big farm in Indiana near to Chicago that makes cheese.

Truthfully, if I HAD to eat locally, I'd prefer to live along the equator somewhere, close to an ocean. Year round growing season. . .and plenty of fish.

 

[crazyquik]

If forced to, I could move to my parents house and only eat things from within 800 yards. Wouldn't be fun, but do-able.

 

[unjung]

 

[huy]

It would be very easy to do here in California.

 

[IUtoSLU]

I wouldn't do so well in St. Louis. We are the gateway to the West, which means a lot passes through, but not a lot begins here.

 

[whodini]

Pretty sure I could get away with here in CR. Considering the ammount of fruit and veggies we grow here, on top of the beef and cheese we produce, it's very much like a mini-California.