Fair Trade Manitoba is hosting another one month challenge starting on February 12. Check out their website for more information. There are a lot of non-local items that we like to include in our diets, including coffee, tea, chocolate, spices, rice, and bananas. Many of these are available from people who get paid a fair wage. Check Fair Trade Manitoba's consumer guide to help find fair trade products in your locale.
I previously posted about finding more fair trade items (spices and rice) here.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Monday, February 9, 2009
What's new in 2009?
While we aren't running any official challenges lately, 100 Mile Manitoba members are still actively eating local!Here is a summary of things that some of our members are doing.
Various members continue to give presentations on the 100 Mile Diet to various groups.
While the 100 Mile Food Guide hasn't been updated in a while, more entries continue to be collected and updates will be done when members have time!
More workshops will be conducted in 2009 on canning and making a solar food dryer. We are also looking into other possibilities like building your own cold frames, breadmaking, and baking with honey. If you have any ideas for workshops you would like to see, add them to the comments here.
If you want to be on the 100 Mile Manitoba mailing list or want to be more involved in the group, contact us at 100milemanitoba@gmail.com.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Manitoba Made?
Have you seen the "Manitoba Made" signs around stores lately? This program is supported by the Manitoba Food Processors Association and their website includes a list of Manitoba Made Brands.
While it is great to support local business, I do want to make a specific note regarding these products: they are processed in Manitoba and many of them do not use ingredients from Manitoba.
Coffee can be roasted in Manitoba, but the coffee beans were not grown in the province, and perhaps we are all aware of that. But baked goods with flour, or tofu with soybeans, while processed in Manitoba, are not necessarily made with wheat or soybeans that were grown in Manitoba. When you support these companies, ask for more information and request that they use ingredients from this province! There are also many smaller farmers and processors deserving of your support as well (who have not paid the MFPA to join the organization) - be critical with your shopping cart.
Happy Eating!
While it is great to support local business, I do want to make a specific note regarding these products: they are processed in Manitoba and many of them do not use ingredients from Manitoba.
Coffee can be roasted in Manitoba, but the coffee beans were not grown in the province, and perhaps we are all aware of that. But baked goods with flour, or tofu with soybeans, while processed in Manitoba, are not necessarily made with wheat or soybeans that were grown in Manitoba. When you support these companies, ask for more information and request that they use ingredients from this province! There are also many smaller farmers and processors deserving of your support as well (who have not paid the MFPA to join the organization) - be critical with your shopping cart.
Happy Eating!
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Fair Trade Spices and more
Since my post requesting fair trade spices, I've had success finding them!
Ten Thousand Villages on Plaza Drive has fair trade powdered ginger and cinnamon and whole pepper and nutmeg. They also have olive oil and brazil nut oil and dried fruit, all fair trade products that I had not seen before. Of course, they have an abundance of tea, chocolate, and coffee. Cocoa and sugar are also available.
I have hear that basmati rice can be found at MHD (311 Kenny) and MCIC (302-280 Smith). For brown and short grain rice, Lundberg seems like a good company to support, although I haven't found it at local stores yet.
Some of this information is available at Fair Trade Manitoba's website.
If you're looking into including some non-local foods in your diet once the 100 Mile Manitoba Challenge is over, I recommend trying these fair trade products.
UPDATE: I've been told that Lundberg rice can be found at Safeway and Organic Planet.
Ten Thousand Villages on Plaza Drive has fair trade powdered ginger and cinnamon and whole pepper and nutmeg. They also have olive oil and brazil nut oil and dried fruit, all fair trade products that I had not seen before. Of course, they have an abundance of tea, chocolate, and coffee. Cocoa and sugar are also available.
I have hear that basmati rice can be found at MHD (311 Kenny) and MCIC (302-280 Smith). For brown and short grain rice, Lundberg seems like a good company to support, although I haven't found it at local stores yet.
Some of this information is available at Fair Trade Manitoba's website.
If you're looking into including some non-local foods in your diet once the 100 Mile Manitoba Challenge is over, I recommend trying these fair trade products.
UPDATE: I've been told that Lundberg rice can be found at Safeway and Organic Planet.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Upcoming
Day 80??
Wow! Four fifths done the challenge!
It's been a little quiet on the diet lately, perhaps we've all become used to our local eating habits!
While the official 100 Mile Manitoba challenge is coming to and end, we have more plans in the works.
100 Mile Manitoba Windup
Join us on December 9 at 5pm for a celebratory potluck at St. Mary's United Church, 613 St. Mary's Rd.
Bring your dish, the recipe for it, and your stories!
Wow! Four fifths done the challenge!
It's been a little quiet on the diet lately, perhaps we've all become used to our local eating habits!
While the official 100 Mile Manitoba challenge is coming to and end, we have more plans in the works.
100 Mile Manitoba Windup
Join us on December 9 at 5pm for a celebratory potluck at St. Mary's United Church, 613 St. Mary's Rd.
Bring your dish, the recipe for it, and your stories!
More details available soon on:
• 100 Mile Manitoba (diy) t-shirts
• 100 Mile Manitoba buttons
• a survey to assess our experiences
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Upping the challenge of the 100 mile diet
I recently came across this website, Eat Local Challenge. It is a blog with multiple authors who tackle eating local across the United States.
The post featured here challenges the local diet with concepts such as: consume regionally specific foods (that cannot be grown elsewhere), analyse farm inputs (compost vs. synthetic fertilizer), and use alternatives to transport food (biodesiel, transport compost one way). The author also promotes purchasing fair trade products.
The 100 days will be up soon enough and I am looking forward to enjoying some spicy curries. But I really would like products I purchase from afar to be fair trade. While coffee and chocolate are great fair trade products, I would love to be able to purchase fair trade spices and rice, two things I'm missing.
For this 100 mile diet challenge, I purchased some items from retailers without knowing the details of their production. In the future, I would like to take the time to interact with the farmers more and to get more details on their foods. I would like to make sure that I purchase non-genetically modified and organic (or low synthetic input) products.
What about you? Are you going to take the 100 mile diet further? What items would you like to see grown or produced locally?
The post featured here challenges the local diet with concepts such as: consume regionally specific foods (that cannot be grown elsewhere), analyse farm inputs (compost vs. synthetic fertilizer), and use alternatives to transport food (biodesiel, transport compost one way). The author also promotes purchasing fair trade products.
The 100 days will be up soon enough and I am looking forward to enjoying some spicy curries. But I really would like products I purchase from afar to be fair trade. While coffee and chocolate are great fair trade products, I would love to be able to purchase fair trade spices and rice, two things I'm missing.
For this 100 mile diet challenge, I purchased some items from retailers without knowing the details of their production. In the future, I would like to take the time to interact with the farmers more and to get more details on their foods. I would like to make sure that I purchase non-genetically modified and organic (or low synthetic input) products.
What about you? Are you going to take the 100 mile diet further? What items would you like to see grown or produced locally?
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Help needed with Research Project
Hello 100milers,
As a research assistant from the Environmental Conservation lab at the University of Manitoba, I am writing in hope of receiving some assistance from you. Colin Anderson, a PhD student is conducting research and we are interested in gaining insight into the expectations, ideas and feelings around today's food systems, both local and global.
We hope to find retailers and consumers who are actively involved in local food systems who are willing to participate in an interview. This research is in collaboration with the Harvest Moon Food Group. The HMFood Group is comprised of farm families located in Southwestern Manitoba who are committed to connecting producers with both urban and rural customers to distribute locally produced food as part of an economically, environmentally and socially sustainable food system. The HMFood Group is currently in the developmental stage, thus working in collaboration with them will enable us to help the community succeed with their social enterprise. This study will also allow us to explore the role local food systems can play in mitigating the adverse affects of rural decline.
The interviews will be audio recorded, unless the participant is uncomfortable with this. The recordings will later be transcribed and Colin will use them for research purposes and possibly for promotional and educational materials for the HMFood Group. Each interview will be approximately an hour in duration and Colin has received some funding to pay $50 per interview so that people are compensated for their time.
Please reply and include contact information (name, phone number, email) of retailers or consumers who you consider to be actively using a local food system. It would also be helpful if you could provide some contact information of people who you would consider to be conventional retailers or consumers.
Thank you so much for your help,
Aimee Waruk
As a research assistant from the Environmental Conservation lab at the University of Manitoba, I am writing in hope of receiving some assistance from you. Colin Anderson, a PhD student is conducting research and we are interested in gaining insight into the expectations, ideas and feelings around today's food systems, both local and global.
We hope to find retailers and consumers who are actively involved in local food systems who are willing to participate in an interview. This research is in collaboration with the Harvest Moon Food Group. The HMFood Group is comprised of farm families located in Southwestern Manitoba who are committed to connecting producers with both urban and rural customers to distribute locally produced food as part of an economically, environmentally and socially sustainable food system. The HMFood Group is currently in the developmental stage, thus working in collaboration with them will enable us to help the community succeed with their social enterprise. This study will also allow us to explore the role local food systems can play in mitigating the adverse affects of rural decline.
The interviews will be audio recorded, unless the participant is uncomfortable with this. The recordings will later be transcribed and Colin will use them for research purposes and possibly for promotional and educational materials for the HMFood Group. Each interview will be approximately an hour in duration and Colin has received some funding to pay $50 per interview so that people are compensated for their time.
Please reply and include contact information (name, phone number, email) of retailers or consumers who you consider to be actively using a local food system. It would also be helpful if you could provide some contact information of people who you would consider to be conventional retailers or consumers.
Thank you so much for your help,
Aimee Waruk
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