A Quest for Ethical (part 1)

Food.

We all need to eat, but we can decide what we eat and where we get our food.  Here are a few of the small changes we have been making lately.

Vegetables

It is our dream to be able to grow all of our own produce one day.  But right now we live in a small apartment, with a deck that faces north-west.  So we have to get creative!  It has been great to get involved in a community garden project at church, we order bi-weekly harvest boxes which include a variety of (mostly) local produce, and anything else we need we try to buy at small local produce stores or farm stands, rather than big supermarkets.

Honey

Our desire to buy local honey stayed on the back burner for a long time.  Partly because we didn't know where to buy it, and partly because we knew it would be expensive, and we don't really have room for extras in our budget.  And we go through quiet a lot of honey.  But recently we found a local honey farm (is that even what you call it?) and we found out that they sell large containers of baking honey - all the extras of their different favours of honey dumped together.  Because it's all the extras and because of the large volume it's sold in, it actually works out to be cheaper than honey from the store!  Hooray!!  And the size of the bucket?  15 kilograms!  Check it out - I put a one cup measuring cup beside it for size comparison:

Meat (and alternatives)

We have started buying our meat from local butchers instead of the supermarket.  It is more expensive, but we have also been eating meat less.  We have started experimenting with different kinds of beans instead, and to my surprise, I am actually enjoying them!  They add interesting variety to different dishes that I used to make only with meat.  And not only does growing beans have a smaller impact on the environment than raising meat does, beans are cheaper too!  There is something very satisfying about being able to feed a household of three adults (and a baby, but he's not eating solids yet) for a week with only a small roast or half a dozen chicken breasts.  (Meat-wise I mean... of course we eat other things too... you know what I mean...)

What are some food-related changes you have made in your life, or are thinking about making?