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HOW FAR DOES YOUR FOOD TRAVEL BEFORE YOU EAT IT?
by JANE BOGNER
SUNDAY, October 31, 2004

My first teaching job was in Atlanta, Georgia. I was so excited to move to this wonderful southern state at the peak of peach picking season. To my dismay, there were no fresh juicy peaches in the supermarkets. I inquired and was told that most were exported to other states. The year was 1973 when local farmers' markets were virtually nonexistent for those of us living in big cities.

When I moved to California, I was delighted to find local produce stands. Remember the one on the corner of Broadway and Sereno? Our supermarkets carried tons of produce grown in our state.

Things have surely changed in the last two decades. Farmers' Markets are thriving in most Bay Area cities. Sleepy-eyed farmers travel a couple of hundred miles to sell the seasonal produce that they picked the day before.

The big chain supermarkets have gone the other direction with their centralized distribution networks. Americans have become accustomed to the availability of every conceivable type of fruit and vegetable year-round. Which brings me to the subject of this column: how far does your food travel?

Take a minute to read produce labels the next time you are shopping. I recently saw a container of precut fruit that was packaged in Coral Gables, Florida with fruit from Latin America; not exotic fruit, just plain, old cantaloupe, watermelon and grapes. 

According to Sustainable Agriculture, fresh food is hauled an average of 1500 to 2500 miles from farm to table which is 25 percent farther than in 1980.

Most of these figures pertain to people living on the east coast but they are impressive. Romaine lettuce typically travels 2055 miles from farm to store. The figure is 1788 miles for celery, 1675 miles for onions, and 1369 miles for tomatoes. Grapes are the winner in this mileage race which logged an average of 2143 miles from vineyards in California to markets elsewhere.

Time is also important as it takes a week for US-grown food to travel from a field on one coast to a store on the other. That generally means that most produce is picked before it is ripe. Curiously, imported food travels only one to two weeks including time for USDA inspections.

The Leopold Center compared what it takes to haul food from other states into Iowa via large semi trailer trucks versus what it takes to haul food within the state in small light trucks. It found that growing and transporting just 10 percent more food within Iowa would result in an annual fuel savings of up to 348,000 gallons and yearly emissions reductions close to 7.9 million pounds. Considering the rising price of fuel, this is significant.

In addition to local Farmers' Markets, there is another movement called Community Supported Agriculture (www.csacenter.org, 717 264-4141). Consumers can buy a weekly "share" of food produced during the growing season. This fresh produce is delivered to your door or at central sites.

One farm is located at UC Davis and called Student Harvests. They are a hands-on, educational program that gives students the opportunity to operate a CSA program throughout the year. Faculty, staff and students can subscribe to receive weekly produce baskets. These baskets are filled with a diverse mix of seasonal produce each week. The subscription fee is $14/week, paid in advance monthly or quarterly.

One last note. Local farmers and Farmers Markets are not inherently organic operations. Consumers need to ask if they use harmful pesticides and herbicides on their farms.

VALCORE Recycling Vice President Jane Bogner's "A Sorted Affair" is published every other week in the Times-Herald, Community Outlook Section. For recycling information call Genie Kaggerud, VALCORE Recycling manager at 645-8258 or visit www.VALCORErecycling.org.

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