Food Miles Update

First of all, this takes work - lots of work. And time, I think it will get easier as time goes on, but for now I must confess that sometimes I can't be bothered and just take the easy way out.

Fruit and Veg: I can pretty much buy it all locally and conforming to my 100 km from home policy. The big change is that I no longer go to the store to buy (say) potatoes, celery and carrots. I need to go and see what is available on the day and change my food plans accordingly. The organic food from the markets is a bit expensive but I will buy what I can afford and know I am supporting my local farmers and the planet. At this stage I am about 20% organic. I have also planted some lettuce, more herbs and an eggplant so I will be harvesting them in due course.

Eggs: No problem buying free range eggs locally - I have quite a few options.

Meat: One butcher sells beef from farms 10 km away so that gets the big tick. I haven't had confirmation on lamb, pork or chicken but the research is continuing. Haven't looked at sandwich meat because I don't usually eat a lot but I will need to do that at some point.

Flour: I have found a source of locally grown, organic wheatbut haven't had a chance to find somewhere to get it milled yet. I am sure the local health store will know but I just haven't got around to asking them. This also means that I haven't started making my own bread yet (although I did buy some locally made wood-fired sourdough - not that the flour would have been local) but that will come in due course. I will get a sourdough starter going at some point so I can eliminate the need for yeast. I am using up my existing flour supply to make pasta.

Cheese: I have found a local feta but am struggling to source a local cheddar (or other 'everyday' cheese). Haven't given up yet. Also contemplating the other delicious varieties I love so much as to whether they become (say) a once a year treat or whether they get the flick ....

Milk and Other Dairy: I would buy about 1 litre of milk a year so I might have to suck that one up. Butter, well it would be worth looking around to see if someone makes it locally but haven't got to it yet. Actually, thinking about milk, I will need to buy more when I start making my own yogurt so I will need to follow that up.

Bubbly water: Having a hard time not buying this - love it so much - but it is getting better. I always make sure I have plenty of ice on hand and I am keeping cold water in the fridge so that is helping the switch. (such a silly thing to get stuck on).

Herbs and Spices: There is one local source for pepper but otherwise I will have to just live this one. Okay I can buy some Bush foods but most of the spices come from overseas and I can't think of a way around that.

Coffee: I have found a local-ish coffee producer but I notice that while their beans are all Australian, they aren't single source. Last night I lashed out and had three cups of coffee - that would be my normal weekly consumption so, again, I might just have to make do here.

Other items: Rice is not grown locally but, from memory, it is grown in the Ord River region. I have decided to buy that (once I find it) simply because there is an ocean of available water there so it is not placing stress on the environment as it would if I bought it from land irrigated by the Murray River system.

Wonton wrappers, spring roll wrappers and noodles - no idea yet. Yes I could make my own wrappers easy enough although I am trying to work out whether I could really be bothered. I haven't found any noodle source and that isn't something that is as easily home-made. Will I need to consider this as an exception and significantly reduce my consumption?

My other consideration is storage space. For example I can source some great corn at the moment - and I do love my corn - but I only have a very small freezer. So do I buy a new freezer to store the corn (considering the footprint that that will have) or do I just eat corn seasonally? I can't do without tomatoes but I can bottle them when the season rocks around. But I don't really want to bottle corn and pickled cauliflower doesn't have the same versatility as regular cauliflower. Hmmm, more thought needed here.

As I look through here, I realize that a lot of my "little exceptions" actually make up a really long list. Will have to put some serious thought into that too.