What's for dinner?
Local and global food studied
By Dawn McLean
What's for dinner? That pressing question is raised in households all across Powell River. People think nothing of stopping at the grocery store to pick up a packaged meal. No harm in that—we are all rushed, needing to get the kids to the next activity or attend an evening meeting. But what is actually in that instant meal?
Students at Vancouver Island University, Powell River Campus, had the opportunity to explore that question in Liz Webster's Global Studies class. Students discovered that there is the belief that local is "bad" and global is "good"—but that is simply the result of decades of marketing and brainwashing by the media. What is only recently being understood is the effects of the global impact of eating food that might have been chemically treated and shipped from across the world.
Students learn about what industrialization has done to the forests and feedlots, the energy that is used to refrigerate and ship the food—and exactly what is in that meal you just picked up at the local store or fast food joint. When Webster points out to students the availability of local food, it is often an eye-opening relief to them.
Because we are fortunate enough to live in an area where local food is still part of the living tradition, we still have people here that we can go to directly to learn how to produce good quality local food. "We are a model for other communities. Our isolation is a motivation and a catalyst for doing things locally. It always has been. Students discover our local berries, the fruit tree project, seafood, Hatch-a-Bird Farm, mushrooms—so many immediate and specific resources."
Student Kelly Hodgins says that the global studies course mirrors the forward thinking of the local food movements. "Even though I am already quite involved in the local farming scene, I found the course invaluable because it highlighted some of the major issues with our global food supply. It was balanced nicely with the presentation of alternative initiatives that we have here that provide us some optimism.
A highlight of the course is a potluck where students document where the food they prepared has come from. Student Lucille Acheson made a chicken stew, made with locally acquired ingredients. "Global Studies was great, especially for us who are new to the area, as we became more aware of what is available in the community."
