An old paradigm- Locally Grown Food Continued
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These steel cans, but without lead solder, were still used as late as the 1960s.
The advent of cheap, bulk rail transportation made tinned foods and other products of
the industrial age available on the frontiers in the late1800s. This was the start of
Americans and Mexicans getting used to cheap food transported from long distances.
As the cost of transportation of food rises, locally grown produce, meat, eggs and milk
becomes more cost effective. In the 1940's fuel was very scarce and was rationed in the
United States because fuel was needed for the WWII effort. Milk was delivered door to
door, but it was done by horse drawn wagons. People rode public transportation. Few
could afford to drive. Ration coupons for gas were pooled and people shared rides.
Homeowners and renters were urged to plant Victory Gardens and to grow their own
fruits and vegetables.
Could this happen again? Some people are actively planning for a return to simpler
times. The believers in the Peak Oil Theory. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peak_oil believe
that a return to past farming methods and simple living is returning. They are buying
reprints of old Whole Earth Catalogs and buying rural land.
I do not know about this, but I do know that I can buy 17 Jumbo large eggs (one
kilogram) in the small tienda (store) in the little Mexican town nearby for 14 pesos. In the
large Supermarket five miles away, 18 very small eggs cost 26 pesos. They are
packaged in a foam carton unlike the fresh eggs sold by weight in a plastic bag in the
small stores.
Why should I bother driving to a large supermarket to pay more?
My advice to those who want to save on food is do not ignore local foods. Transportation
costs are growing and transportation will continue to impact food prices. Check out your
local farmer's markets, fruit stands. Check out foods discounted for nearing expiration
date. Plant your own garden. Trade produce of your garden with other neighbors for
what they have produced. Get a neighborhood garden society going and plan different
products for each garden. Think about it!
The advent of cheap, bulk rail transportation made tinned foods and other products of
the industrial age available on the frontiers in the late1800s. This was the start of
Americans and Mexicans getting used to cheap food transported from long distances.
As the cost of transportation of food rises, locally grown produce, meat, eggs and milk
becomes more cost effective. In the 1940's fuel was very scarce and was rationed in the
United States because fuel was needed for the WWII effort. Milk was delivered door to
door, but it was done by horse drawn wagons. People rode public transportation. Few
could afford to drive. Ration coupons for gas were pooled and people shared rides.
Homeowners and renters were urged to plant Victory Gardens and to grow their own
fruits and vegetables.
Could this happen again? Some people are actively planning for a return to simpler
times. The believers in the Peak Oil Theory. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peak_oil believe
that a return to past farming methods and simple living is returning. They are buying
reprints of old Whole Earth Catalogs and buying rural land.
I do not know about this, but I do know that I can buy 17 Jumbo large eggs (one
kilogram) in the small tienda (store) in the little Mexican town nearby for 14 pesos. In the
large Supermarket five miles away, 18 very small eggs cost 26 pesos. They are
packaged in a foam carton unlike the fresh eggs sold by weight in a plastic bag in the
small stores.
Why should I bother driving to a large supermarket to pay more?
My advice to those who want to save on food is do not ignore local foods. Transportation
costs are growing and transportation will continue to impact food prices. Check out your
local farmer's markets, fruit stands. Check out foods discounted for nearing expiration
date. Plant your own garden. Trade produce of your garden with other neighbors for
what they have produced. Get a neighborhood garden society going and plan different
products for each garden. Think about it!