Stepping outside of the industrial food model and ourconsumer-driven, fast-paced, fast-food culture by purchasing locally grown foodat farmers’ markets and natural food stores is becoming an increasingly popularway to help the planet.
Canadian authors Alisa Smith and J.B. MacKinnon,however, took it a step further. After learning that food often travels greatdistances to reach our homes, they committed themselves to a year of eatingonly locally grown food (defined as food grown within 100 miles of theirapartment in Vancouver, British Columbia). Smith and MacKinnon’sexperiment, a 12-month journey to reconnect with the people and places thatproduced what they ate, culminated in the book Plenty: Eating Locally on the 100-Mile Diet.
Smith and MacKinnon knew this test would not beeasy365 days without sugar, beloved cereals and even their favorite beerbutlittle did they know that the year would transform their lives. Plenty offers readers an enlightening,thought-provoking story as told by a humorous, warmhearted Canadian couple.
Smith and MacKinnon are both free-lance journalists.Smith writes regularly for Reader’sDigest and has been nominated for a National Magazine Award. MacKinnon isthe author of the acclaimed nonfiction book DeadMan in Paradise and has been the recipient of three National MagazineAwards for journalism.
Milwaukeeans are invited to a book discussion on Plenty at the Urban Ecology Center on Tuesday, Sept. 14, at 7 p.m., sponsored byBoswell Book Co. (The authors will not be present at the discussion.) Toregister, call 414-964-8505.
