Dear UeaTers,
Have you ever pondered over whether it is really possible to be a 100% locavore? Ever wondered if local trumps organic? What about culturally symbolic foods that can’t be grown in Ontario soil? Is the 100-mile diet just a trend?
To help you with your ponderings, we would like to introduce you to Eat Local!, a student run initiative on campus to promote eating local, sustainable foods. This group of students has worked very hard to put together an annual Eat Local! Day on campus which features information tables, guest speeches, a local farmer’s market and….A FREE VEGAN LUNCH!
Here is what one of the organizers of Eat Local! had to say about this initiative:
Guest Post by Lynnette Choo
The Eat Local! event started off as a group project for an enviro course in our undergraduate years. We were challenged to find something that we were passionate about and find a creative way to express that. Anne, Mina and I were all passionate about food politics and were particularly intrigued by the idea of eating locally. Since we all volunteered with the Hot Yam!, we decided on a public awareness event to show the benefits of eating locally and supporting our local food producers. And, most importantly, to show that there are so many diverse fruits and vegetables that can be grown in Ontario…not just potatoes.
With a free vegan, local and mostly organic lunch made by the Hot Yam! and partnering with UTERN, Eat Local! has grown, attracting over 200 attendees in the past. Last year we’ve included a small farmer’s market, a speaker’s series (from professors to chefs to farmers), booths from organizations like Local Food Plus (LFP), the Greenbelt, Foodland Ontario, and more. At Eat Local!, you can find useful resources such as a list of local farmer’s markets, small sachets of local and organic sprout seeds donated from Toronto Sprouts….and many more ideas on how you can start to eat locally.
We realized that eating locally is one of the many big food issues out there. We understand that when it comes to eating locally, we’re all struggling with our own dilemmas. Does local trump organic? What about culturally symbolic foods that can’t be grown in Ontario soil? Is the 100-mile diet just a trend? Is it really possible to be a 100% locavore? This event is here to spark interest and discussion. Food politics is everywhere.
So come out and join us at the third annual Eat Local! in October….it will be hosted on October 21, 2009 from 12:pm to 4pm at the International Student Center.
For more information, send us an email: eatlocaluoft@gmail.com
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