Dinner!

After realizing how large of an ecological footprint my previous meals in the day had, I decided to challenge myself and see how minimalist my dinner could be. To complete this challenge I went to the farmers market that is close to my house (St.Jacobs Farmers market http://www.stjacobs.com/).  This market is run by a Mennonite community who’s farming methods were not influenced by the green revolution.  They don’t use tractors, any fossil fuel powered equipment or any modern technology for farming – they are self sufficient.  All animal feed is grown on their own farms, and to top it off – transportation from their homes to the market is done by horse and buggy.  The community does not use any chemicals in its farming, thus having the certified organic label for all of its food.  The benefit, as Richard Manning mentioned in his article, is that it reduces the “chemical reaction, called acidification, [which] is noxious and contributes significantly to acid rain.[9]”  Another benefit is that less nitrogen is used, thus preventing the problem of “rainfall and irrigation water inevitably [washing] the nitrogen from the fields to creeks and stream” – avoiding this results in healthier lands [10]. Below is a photo showing on a large scale how chemicals can seep into the land and contaminate water supplies.

For dinner I finally settled on having a peameal bacon sandwich. The bread, lettuce, tomato, cheese, and bacon was all grown and produced by the family that was selling it. The sandwich was handed to me on a plate, yes that’s right, finally something that was reusable; these small details add up quite significantly.  Taking mass production, transportation, and garbage out of the picture; this was one of the most environmentally and fossil fuel friendly meals you could have.  After the meal, I went over to the stand and talked with the owner for a little bit and told them about this assignment.  After some friendly chat and a couple questions I received almost every step in the process of starting from scratch to getting this sandwich on my plate.  The only point at which fossil fuels were used was to cook the bacon, which involved a burner and propane to heat the grill.

While eating this way certainly is healthy and environmentally friendly, it makes quite the dent in your wallet!

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[9] Manning, Richard. The Oil We Eat, Harper’s Magazine, (Feb 2004): 37-45

[10] Manning, Richard. The Oil We Eat, Harper’s Magazine, (Feb 2004): 37-45

[11] Foundation for Water Research.  http://www.euwfd.com/assets/images/Groundwater-pollution02.jpg

[12] closetcooking. “Peameal Bacon Sandwich.”  http://www.closetcooking.com/2008/05/peameal-bacon-sandwich.html