Yes…that’s right.
Not even 24 hours had passed since we made the commitment, and already Maggie had branded me the “weak link.” We were opening up to our co-workers about the massive undertaking that we are embarking on when she let it fly. We’ll be living “locally” for an entire year starting May 11, 2008, she explained, pausing to let that sink in. “Every single thing we eat for those 365 days will have to come from within 100 miles of our home.”
Theresa interrupted immediately, “Oh, that’s easy for me. I have a Kroger supermarket two miles from my home. That’s about as local as you can get.”
“What?”
“Yeah, no problem. I can get just about anything there…”
I was chuckling, and Maggie quickly cut back in. “No. Everything has to be produced within 100 miles. Chickens. Eggs. Milk. Cheese. Vegetables. Fruits. Nuts. Anything that we eat during any meal – the ingredients and spices and herbs – everything has to come from a farm no more than 100 miles away. If we want bread, we’re going to have to hunt down local wheat. We both believe this is the next step in exploring what it is to be green, and we know it won’t be easy, especially with a 6-year old child, and Adrian being the weak link.”
Ouch. And even though I hate to admit it, the carb-loving, snack-happy, sushi-devouring omnivore inside me has to accept the possibility that everyone in the room had already reached the same conclusion. I love to eat, and my tastes range from the high-end to the sometimes embarrassing (Marshmallow Moonpie, anyone?). Which is not to say that I eat a lot of junk food, but I do eat a lot of food. Period. So, I’ll have to forgive them if the 6-year old gets better odds to finish.
I decide to sidestep the comment, adding “We’re committed to seeing just how we adapt, and even though we’re sacrificing a lot of modern convenience, this is an exercise that will enable us to come to terms with sustainability in an area that is completely personal and essential. Our goal is to live like this for 365 days, and to document what it takes to pull it off.”
Not one to miss a beat, Theresa was shaking her head. “Hold on a minute, all I can say is that it took us this long, and we’ve come sooooooo far, so…WHY!?!”
More on that later…
