After a month of hyperlocavore eating, Vicki Robin developed her own food rules for a lifetime.
Vicki Robin: My 10-Mile Diet
When Tricia Beckner asked me to only eat for a month what she can produce on her CSA farm-ette, just to see what would happen, I was game. We’ve widened the circle a little to include food produced within 10 miles of my home on Whidbey Island, with exceptions made for 4 essentials: oil, salt (+5 other spices), caffeine, and lemons.
So what did I learn from a month of hyperlocavore eating?
How can you not love the one who feeds you?
A single meal shows the parts of my local food system—and how much I depend on them.
Sometimes, local eating means getting very creative.
When we sacrifice good food to have lots of food, it's a double loss. Can we use this time of thinner wallets to examine the volume of food we run through our bodies?
After 10 days of eating within 10 miles, I was ready to do just about anything for food made from grains.
My eating experiment is making me think differently about food security around the world.
Eating within a 10-mile radius of my house makes me really miss certain foods, but there's a lot about normal eating habits that I don't miss.
What's the impact of hyperlocal eating on our health?
Without my own cow or goat, the secret to getting dairy products is all about neighborliness.
What my neighbors and I learned when we sat down to figure out what food resources we have at hand, and how to fill the gaps.
Another lesson of 10-mile eating: To get your needs met you have to say what they are, and give your neighbors a chance to help you.
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