Strange Sustainable Loops

As I began to formulate a reaction to Brent Frei’s recent guest post, written under the umbrella of my editorially esteemed colleague’s new blogging territory, The Hot Pot (Brent, happy to see you on these virtual pages beyond your recent contributions, here and there), I realized that the beast created in the wake of my ensuing stream would prove more formidably imposing than apropos for “comment” territory (readers, after all, are encouraged to leave comment...). And I’ve had a chirpy bug in my ear for a while asking me to address that persistent little local-food notion and my recent (wholly guilt-free) indulgence in soft-shell crabs (twice) in Chicago.

First off: Brent, thanks for another look at the tricky ground many of our progressively commingled “green” concepts are navigating these days. One of my pet discussions wherever I wander in the name of food these days is, “What’s the new organic?” For a while, I figured it was “natural,” and now I’m pretty sure it’s “sustainable” (lots of quotes in this “ethical food” land...). And although I know organic has a solid grounding via federal regulation, open the field up to the consumer’s point of view, and even that rug gets pulled from under you. Johnny-come-lately, local food, fits nicely and shows some serious legs.

So, for the sake of all that’s good and holy, which one should we go with???

All of the above, of course.

Now, I’m not seriously suggesting people go all fundamentalist (or worse, greenwashy), but rather that the answer to this increasingly important aspect of food will pull a little from column A, and a little from column B. To put Lynn’s Hot Pot metaphor to use (as I think she meant it, a la a community simmering pot for each newcomer to add an ingredient), it really is something that many folks from various walks of life will bring to the table, mixed and matched, and often overlapping—at least until dominant, logically sound, verifiable guidelines come into place. I mean, look what it’s done for organics. Even though most regular folks have no clue what organic really means (it’s more of an ideal, a feeling for many people ... a philosophy), would Whole Foods have thrived, let alone absorbed Wild Oats, without federal legitimization of organic? Would we have entire sections at retail dedicated to organic products? Successful private-label organic “brands”? More than a couple of organic restaurants and bakeries? Of course not. Would we be better off without such standardized oversight? I doubt it.

Despite the painstaking ordeal of it all, we need to face each of these variably green concepts, as they're tossed into the hot pot, head-on.

But back to those tasty little crabs.

Yes, I support local agriculture by frequenting the farmers’ markets in summer and dig it when restaurants cull from local resources. I’d also love to see the regionally niche cottage food industry revival that very well may manifest in the coming months and years.

But do I have a problem with food miles for some items—particularly wild-harvested, seasonal items? (Like those recent crunchy-herbed and barbecued soft-shell crabs ... with the latter juxtaposed all the more poignantly while taking in a rousing T-Model Ford set at Blues Fest last Saturday.) Do I have a problem with shipping those tasty, crunchy, little crabs a couple times a year?

Not at all. Even foods shipped from around the world will inevitably continue to fit into our grand scheme of edible things (and every rule deserves an exception). The state of sustainable energy will (hopefully) keep pace with food. Only the proverbial ostrich head buried in sand would think otherwise these days.

As always, balance is the key to most endeavors. Some foods will make perfect sense (economically and intrinsically) to ship, and others might make more sense as local items, or luxuries and special treats.

Every door is a window of opportunity. It just depends on your perspective.