Sustainable Living---Food Sources

by Zoë Pearson 

I currently live in Seattle, Washington and have been recently looking for new ways to live a sustainable life style. So, I started thinking about food. As a means to chnage my diet, I created a locally grown sustaible menu which reduces my carbon footprint as well as supports local businesses.

Healthy & Sustainable Menu

Background

In 2008, the Seattle City Council passed the Local Food Action Plan which requires that state government officials follow new standards as a means to promote and improve regional food systems. Since then, the act is still in production, yet numerous policies and goals have been set in place. These include: coordinating food systems, working across departments with the Food Interdepartmental Team (IDT), updating land use codes to support urban agriculture, hiring food policy advisors, as well as making more city-owned land available for sustainable food production.

In terms of the Local Food Action Plan, there are currently four main goals outlined:

1. All Seattle resident should have access to affordable, local, healthy and sustainable and culturally appropriate food.
2. It should be easy to grow food for both personal use of business purposes.
3. Businesses that grow local healthy, sustainable and green/organic food should thrive in Seattle and become the main food source.
4. Food related waste needs to be prevented, reused and recycled in every way possible.

In order to create a sustainable and locally grown menu, one must be aware of local farms to purchase fruits, vegetables and meat products. I thought it would be interesting to shop directly by farm. Though this is not a popular option among consumers, it is continually growing as people are less trusting and more skeptical about labels/products found in local grocery stores. This has therefore created a higher demand for sustainable, morally raised and organic foods sources. Thus, I built my meals off of the local farms I could find.

Purchasing Meats/Dairy:

Acres in Zion-Farm in Enumclaw, Washington that raises natural grass fed beef, primarily Angus and Herefords. They graze on large pastures by Newaukum Creek and are fed locally certified organic hay in the winter. The animals are processed locally and are cut/wrapped the each individuals specifications.

E-mail: barnyard@akylafarms.com. Website: http://www.akylafarms.com

Acres in Zion, Eric Robb, Enumclaw, WA. (253) 736-4848. 
E-mail: ericrobb@zionbeef.com. Website: http://www.zionbeef.com

Organic eggs, dairy and chicken can be found at Akyla Farms.

Akyla Farms, Carol & Kevin Osterman, Sedro Woolley WA 98284. (360) 941-1533.

E-mail: barnyard@akylafarms.com. Website: 

http://www.akylafarms.com

Purchasing Vegetables:

Mosby Farms-My aunt runs this company with her husband. They grow organic fruits and vegetables, delicious jams, wines and pies.

(253) 939-9431 Website: http://www.mosbyfarm.com

Purchasing Fish:

Wild Salmon Seafood Market-

2401 Queen Anne Ave. N, Seattle, WA 98109 (206) 217-3474 website: http://wildsalmonseafood.com/.

Locally Grown Menu

First Course: Homemade seafood chowder with mixed greens

·         Cream/milk to make soup base found at Akyla Farms and mixed greens from Mosby Farms. This is a healthy source of protein and vegetables. This is sustainable because it is locally grown.

Second Course: Roasted wild salmon and sliced potatoes with garlic

·         Salmon is found at Wild Salmon Seafood Market in Seattle where the fish are caught locally. Potatoes and garlic are from Mosby Farms. Though salmon are considered endangered species, it is ok to indulge every once and a while. Thus, fish is only somewhat sustainable for our local ecosystem. 

Third Course: Angus beef stuffed inside a red pepper paired with black beans

·         Beef is from Acres in Zion Farms and the veggies are from Mosby Farms. These are sustainable food sources because they are locally grown and are organic. We learned this quarter that eating beef increased our carbon footprint, so though this is a delicious meal it is something that one shouldn’t over eat in a weekly menu.

Dessert: Greek yogurt with blueberries, strawberries, apples and, pears, drizzled with honey.

·         Dairy from Akyla Farms, fruits and honey from Mosby Farms. These are locally grown and organic items that taste delicious and are only eaten in season, therefore they are sustainable.

References

http://www.eatwild.com/products/washington.html

http://www.seattle.gov/environment/food/food-action-plan