Story Created:
Mar 12, 2008 at 6:55 AM EST
Story Updated:
Mar 12, 2008 at 9:24 AM EST
With gas prices hitting record levels and oil pushing toward a record $110 a barrel overnight, plenty of people are feeling the pinch.
At the pump, where the national average for a gallon of regular gas reported by AAA was $3.23 Wednesday morning. And in the hidden cost of goods and services, including the transport costs of groceries.
Adding to the punch in the pocketbook is the already existing rise in the cost of food.
The U.S. Dept. of Labor numbers for January showed a 5 percent increase over the same month last year.
The government won't release the latest Consumer Price Index data until Friday, but previous numbers for January show hefty spikes in energy costs — nearly a 20 percent change from last January — as well as the food spike.
Those kinds of numbers add new meaning to the term "food miles."
It's a term familiar to people looking for more sustainable lifestyle choices and learning about "green" living, because decreasing the food miles in one's grocery shopping is one strategy for using less energy.
That means buying locally grown foods, gardening, even participating in food co-ops and shared farm projects.
In one Michiana neighborhood, that may mean a community garden. In another, including Goshen, it's a co-op program at a farmer's market. Still others may buy or "timeshare" with their labor a stake in a local farm.
Churches, synagogues and other faith organizations have embraced the notion, too.
In North Manchester, about an hour from South Bend, the HOPE Community Supported Agriculture offers pastoral leadership training in partnership with the J.L. Hawkins Family Farm.
Additionally, people in northeast Indiana can buy "shares" in the Hawkins farm and enjoy its yield.
The organization Local Harvest estimates that in 1990, there were about 50 such Community Supported Agriculture programs, or CSAs, around the country. Now, there's more than 1,000.
And for some people, that may be one solution to the double-whammy of high gas and food prices.
The National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service, funded under grants from the United States Department of Agriculture, explains in a 2008 report that food miles really means the distance from farm to the dinner table.
It's a distance that studies show has increased over the last 50 years, with fresh produce traveling an estimated average of 1,500 miles in some research, slightly less for processed foods.
One 2002 study suggested that the food industry accounts for 10 percent of the fossil fuel use in the United States, with only about a fifth of that amount used in growing and producing the food. A different University of Michigan study early this decade found that produce transport costs account for 14 percent of energy use.
How big a difference in miles? In Iowa, the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture looked at the difference between the food miles for locally grown items and the same food shipped into Iowa. A few examples included:
Tomatoes, within 60 miles when locally grown but more than 1,500 when transported in.
Sweet corn, which was grown within 20 miles, compared with a 1,426-mile distance.
Apples, under the same formula, that were within 61 miles, as opposed to 1,726.
A 2001 study by the same organization suggests that produce that's not locally grown uses anywhere between four and 17 times more fuel, with comparably higher "carbon footprint" numbers for carbon monoxide, too.
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is one of the reasons why people with environmentally friendly leanings looked toward local markets well before skyrocketing gas prices added more fuel concerns.
But for others, the CSA may offer some possibilities that take a few of those expensive miles off their food bills.
Tips for reducing food miles:
Learn what foods are in season in your area and build your diet and menus around them.
Shop at a local farmer's market, and network with others interested in CSA plans and products.
Use less labor-intensive, packaged and processed goods. More energy goes into making them.
Plant a garden and grow as much of your own food as possible.
Source: National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service
Links:
On the CSI movement
More info on reducing food miles
Local-Regional CSI
On the Net:
The Hope CSA is a Community Supported Agriculture Farm that provides guided retreats for clergy. Located in North Manchester, Ind., about an hour from South Bend, the farm produces organic food and food for the soul. Clergy spend time working the land, and the rest in reading, reflection and prayer. (260) 982-4961
