30 Days of Gratitude: Day 18

Think about where your food comes from.

I'm fortunate in that 1) I live in California and, 2) I live in the Sacramento Valley, which means that it's very easy for me to get fresh, local produce. There are sections in our grocery store, in the produce section, for different farms in the area and small paragraphs about the farms. There are also usually signs that show which produce came from where, for those items not already located in those sections.

This, amongst other things, has helped me become more aware of where my food comes from. Not everything is local. And trying to buy and eat "local" is a complicated, nuanced, challenge due to many many factors. The first being, defining "local".

While my location, and economic status, allows me to consume the majority of my fruits and vegetables from farms 100 miles (or less) away, this doesn't work for everything. Breads, rice, beans, cooking oils, meats, fish... you name it, and it all comes from sources sometimes difficult to trace.

Sometimes, food sourced from far away is much cheaper than local varieties. Avocados are a good example, with avocados sourced from Mexico often sold much cheaper than avocados from a farm not 50 miles away.

While it's easy to get wrapped up in it all, I think it is extremely helpful for people to begin educating themselves. At least a little understanding of food and sources is better than no understanding, or worse, taking it for grated.

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The “30 Days of Gratitude challenge” prompts are from Screen/Life Balance and author Catherine Price.