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A Locally Grown Diet Made Easy

Eating locally raised food is a growing trend, and Trevor Paque is offering a service for those who like the idea, but have little time. San Franciscan Paque will build an organic garden in your backyard, weed it weekly and even harvest the bounty, placing a box of vegetables on the back porch when he leaves.

Mr. Paque is typical of a new breed of business owner serving the needs of city-dwelling locavores. Couples planning a wedding at the Plaza Hotel in New York City can use a “100-mile menu” of food from the caterer’s farm and neighboring fields in upstate New York. Locally grown food, even fully cooked meals, can also be delivered to your door in some places.

Although a completely local diet is out of reach for even the most dedicated, the shift toward it is being driven by the increasingly popular view that fast food is the enemy and that local food tastes better. And long-distance food, with its attendant petroleum consumption and cheap wages, is harming the planet and does nothing to help build communities.



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Article's Comment     ( 6 Comments )
 
 
 +3 Points           
 
Author of the Article
BY Islander   
  
[ Joined on 03/07 ]
[ Posted on July 22, 2008 ]
Post Reply
Sweet Lord, that is the epitome of decadence. To quote one of my sons:
"Having grown up on a little organic farm, I consider organically grown food a baseline for human civilization.

Planting things for later harvest helped to define human civilization

many thousands of years ago, and organic agriculture was the foundation

of nearly every culture from then 'til the modern, chemically enriched

post-WWII age.

"Having until recently been a cornerstone of

society, organics are practically an inalienable right. Industrial Food

went ahead and alienated it all the same. Today, 'organic' food is a

far cry from what you grow in a garden, and largely the privilege of

the affluent and educated."

The impression we are left with today is that anyone can dine organically; all it takes is money. Lots of money. Enough money to hire your own private gardener.

I find this appalling. What an opportunity missed! An opportunity to get down and dirty...to expend some useful calories...to get reconnected with the land...to teach our children the nature of good food and that it comes from our labor...to discover the delight of watching seeds germinate and grow and flower and fruit...to taste the full, rich flavor of home-grown food...to become part of the cycles of the earth that nourishes us.

To garden is to participate in a ritual so ancient it feels almost like a sacrament. To hire a third party to perform this process seems like sacrilege.

 

 +1 Points           
 
Author of the Article
BY JWRM42   
  
[ Joined on 02/07 ]
Author of the Article [ Posted on July 23, 2008 ]
 
Yes, Islander! I couldn't agree more with what you say. Organic farming [and gardening] has been around as long has human life itself. I think parents and grandparents should teach the next generation about the basics of gardening, how to get more crop from the plants, ect. and rejoin the proccess of natural growth.

But, one thing that may have slowed gardening down, is that now many people live in tight suburbious [if that's a word] areas or apartments, where planting a garden is virtual impossible. Just a sad thing that kid will miss out on such an enjoyable experience.

42

Also, congratulations on the achieving of "moderator" status. Put a good word in for me  ;-)

            
 
Author of the Article
BY Maggie Mae   
  
[ Joined on 07/07 ]
Author of the Article [ Posted on July 24, 2008 ]
 
I have a garden, and I love watching my vegetables grow and most of all - I love eating them!  It's great to get my hands dirty in the soil and know where the food I'm putting in my body is coming from.

I also don't think this is such an awful idea.  Maybe it's a good place to start.  Maybe the owners of a new Paque Garden will actually start picking up some tips and take over the area themselves, who knows?  At least they will be eating healthier which will help our society.

However, I can also see how this could possibly continue to breed laziness.  It's another opportunity for people to pass the responsibility on to someone else.  Clearly, I am mixed on the issue!

 
            
 
Author of the Article
BY stoic   
  
[ Joined on 03/07 ]
[ Posted on July 23, 2008 ]
Post Reply
The topic of civilization came up in conversation recently. I suggested that, as with so many things, probably everything (yin & yang), the benefits are not without mitigation.

One of the mitigating hallmarks of civilized people is strong attachment to institutions, leaders, group identity...the first two are invariably infiltrated by people you would not personally associate with  - who then craft the latter.

'Civilized' in reality might be more aptly called 'domesticated', or 'neutered', even.

Cultivate your vegetables; do not be a cultivated vegetable, lol...get in touch with the wild side, strike out for the frontier, & discern your prerogatives thusly....  
 

 +1 Points           
 
Author of the Article
BY stoic   
  
[ Joined on 03/07 ]
Author of the Article [ Posted on July 23, 2008 ]
 
Damn fine quote!

 +1 Points           
 
Author of the Article
BY BeeGirl