What’s in your basket?

Winter is upon us. The leaves have fallen off, frost is on the ground,snow is falling etc,etc, unless you live in San Diego like me where the appearance of a cloud on the horizon leads to the scrambling of the news channels “Stormwatch” team. A visit to my local supermarket however makes it feel like summer all over again. Melons, pineapple, mangos, papaya and even strawberries line the shelves, perfectly engineered specimens asking to be picked up and manhandled… Wait a minute, strawberries? I live 2 miles from some of the biggest strawberry fields in California and there aint nothing being picked these days. Aaha, problem solved. Produce of Chile. These will be perfect for my ‘Round the World’ fruit salad, a delicious wintertime dessert with a 30,000 mile combined road trip from field to bowl. But what about the carbon footprint of aforementioned treat some of you may ask? It’s enormous is the answer. But why should I wait until my local fruit is in season? Isn’t it my right as an American to have whatever I want to, whenever I want it?……There it is. The answer we have been telling ourselves all along. From foreign fruit to Chinese toys to  gas guzzling SUVs , we want it all and we want it now.   Unfortunately this that has helped lead us into the environmental and economic meltdowns we are currently facing. We underestimate our power as consumers in this mess. These problems will not go away just because we will have a new administration next year. We all have an individual responsibility that involves educating ourselves and making sacrifices. Buying local goods and services is a small but important piece of the puzzle but it has the ability to make a huge impact on the polluting effect of transporting those goods from half way around the world. So the next time you’re in the fruit aisle pick up some apples,take them home and bake a pie. They are in season, usually fairly local and nothing is more American. Next week… Vietnamese catfish.. don’t get me started.