My brother-in-law works at the school, a sort of concierge/handyman. He also lives at the school. There is a small apartment on the premises that allows him to also be a sort of watchman; he's on-call 24hrs a day. One of the benefits to this job is that he and his family get the leftovers from the cafeteria. For most Americans that sounds like something to avoid at all costs, but I can assure you that the cafeteria food at CEIP Manuel Siurot is excellent. It's all cooked on site, no catering and very little (if any) pre-prepared goods. The cafeteria is also certified organic which means that they buy all their produce from organic growers (usually fairly local). The yogurts and dairy products (as well as meat, I think) are also certified organic. It almost sounds like something you could find in Portland, OR!. ;)
A few nights ago Angelines dropped by her brother's home for a visit and was sent home with a bag full of produce that was about to go bad from the school's kitchen. We've eaten all the pears, are working on the carrots, peppers and tomatoes, and tonight when I peeled a kiwi for dessert, this is what I found on the label: a link to "meet the grower" at natureandmore.com. Click the link to read about organic kiwi growing methods in Chile's central valley (that's apparently where my fruit is from!).
Sometimes I wonder at the trade-offs of organic vs. local produce. Spain is certainly capable of producing kiwis for example... Is all the energy and fuel used to bring that fruit to Spain off-set by the grower's sustainable production policies? I'm all for supporting efforts for organic growing and sustainable agriculture, but where's the line?
Being an enlightened consumer isn't easy.
Another difficult part -- even if you can grow kiwis in Spain, is it the best use of the local resources? For example, maybe the yield on kiwis in Chile is 2x as much per area of land with less need for pesticides/herbicides/extra watering (totally a made-up example, btw). If so, that might actually offset the cost of shipping each kiwi, as the gas per kiwi might be a really small amount. There are so many calculations that go into each little decision. It is really difficult to be intentional in buying.
ReplyDeleteAnd don't even get me started on life-cycle analysis. I think folks in Europe tip the scale the opposite way, but LCA is why a lot of American companies use paper cups even for people drinking coffee in their restaurant. If you look at the costs in energy (and for the chain to buy) a mug, wash it, etc, you have to use a mug some really large number of times (1,000? I think -- can't quite remember) to break even over a paper cup. If someone drops and breaks the mug before that time period, then the paper cup was actually more environmentally friendly/cheaper for the company. That one always gets me. I've heard similar things from parents -- it is cheaper to buy ziploc bags and send their kids to school with an actual brown bag lunch rather than use tupperware and lunch bags that get lost and don't come back home.
The main point is that you are thinking about it! Tho often esse make assumptions about what is good for us, and our planet. Often those assumptions are wrong! Challenge everything!
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