Eating local

We returned to this bar on each of the three last nights in Palermo to sample local snacks and wines. The last extra photo is a snapshot, from more than a week ago, of the menu from an amazing restaurant in Cefalù which had the same central theme of serving dishes made from local biodiversity.

Eating local is not necessarily more sustainable. Sustainability depends more on what you choose to eat than where the food comes from. Also, sometimes the same product can be delivered to your plate from the other side of the planet with overall less energy or pollution than a local equivalent despite “food miles”. Making smart food choices is a key way of being “a foodie” that is just as important as the culinary criteria of taste and presentation.

However, all else being equal, choosing to eat local is likely to help sustainability.  Celebrating and being able to eat local foods can be a powerful incentive to conserve biodiversity … whether agrobiodiversity or wild biodiversity. Eating local demands care of the local land and sea, together with all the micro-organisms, insects, plants etc. that contribute to functioning of a healthy ecosystem. Supporting local economy and society is just as important as support of local ecology if long-term sustainability is to be safeguarded. And eating local is a trump card of the tourism industry itself … “come hither and we will cook our authentic local specialities for you that you can't get at home”.

A ‘conservation for future use’ paradigm is at work here. A complementary approach is the ‘preservation for intrinsic value’ paradigm, where all use and human influence on ‘nature’ should be removed, or at least minimised. ‘Ecotourism’ is the tourism business model leveraging off the preservation approach.  At the heart of the differences between sustainable use and preservationism is whether we consider humans as being in nature or living outside it.

The new settler states (NZ, Australia, Canada, USA) have historically emphasised preservation for intrinsic value, whereas Europe and Asia have mainly concentrated conservation for future use. One of the consequences of global knowledge and awareness sharing is an integration of these two great paradigms for planetary care. I have thoroughly enjoyed several weeks of experiencing local foods and beverages in Europe, but also am beginning to long for uncrowded and more nature-centred experiences of life in New Zealand.