Doittion

 

An original New Year’s resolution: eat local

 
   

Trevor Doré

ions editor

-New Year, a new resolution. So often

A= make New Year’s resolutions
nly to lose sight of the end goal and

give up within the first couple of months.
There is no more evidence of this than at
the local gym. The months of January and
February are characterized by swarms of
newcomers who jam themselves into the
local gym like sardines just to get a chance
to run on the treadmill, ride the stationary
bike or lift those weights over and over
again.

Now don’t get me wrong, making a
resolution to become healthier is a great
thing and if you can manage to stick with
a workout routine to the point where it
becomes regular, you will be a lot better off
for it. What I am proposing is not unlike
a new workout routine. It will yield health
benefits and is important to start small
and work your way up. I am proposing a
resolution to eat local—even if it is only
once or twice a week.

Eating local supports the local

economy, results in fresher foods that taste
better and are healthier for you and the
environment. Because local food doesn’t
need to be shipped across the world, it
doesn’t have to be picked before it is ready.
This means that local food is fresher,
contains fewer preservatives, tastes better
and is better for

being put out of jobs because multinational
corpofations can produce much more for
much less. Farmers often receive only a
fraction of every dollar spent on the final
product because money is needed to cover
transportation, processing, packaging,
refrigeration and marketing costs. Just think
of the bananas

you. Local food you buy from

is often produced South America
onasmaller “Eating local supports the local economy, °° 1° cents a
scale, which pound. Every
seni telvae results in fresher foods that taste pound of bananas
pesticides,and better and are healthier for you and the has to be picked,
other harmful environment.” packaged,
practices are shipped and
implemented marketed. Do
helping you really think

to protect biodiversity and preserve a
wider agriculture gene pool. Reduction
of pesticide use along with shorter
transportation. distances results in less
impact’on the environment. Much of the
produce and food products found in local
grocery stores are shipped thousands of
kilometres around the world. A copious
amount of energy is expended and the
impacts are not reflected in the final price.
Eating local supports the local .
economy. Local farmers are continuously

that this whole process costs a mere 10 cents
a pound? Chances are, somewhere along the
line, workers are being exploited. Buying
local also encourages the use of valuable
farmland, which keeps local development
and urban sprawl in check.

Just like any other resolution, it is
important to start small. Don’t get me
wrong, I still eat bananas and drink the
occasional cup of coffee. Just like any other
resolution, start small and work your way
up. If you expect to eat every meal from a

local source or ensure that every ingredient
is produced locally, chances are you are
going to be discouraged very quickly. Once
you get more comfortable and familiar with
local products and ingredients you can start
trying to ensure that all of the ingredients
are from a local source. A good place to
find local food and connect with others in
the local food market is at a local famer’s
market. Many municipalities hold winter
farmer’s markets on a bi-weekly basis and
spring and summer markets on a weekly
basis. There are also companies that offer
local organic produce deliveries directly to
your front door.

The idea of eating local is not a new
innovation. People have been doing it for
millennia. It is interesting to think about
where your food comes from and it is just
recently with globalization that the majority
of our food comes from around the world.
If you would like more information I
would recommend consulting information
about 100 mile diets or visiting your local
farmer’s market—you will see and taste the
difference.

Fuming? Nodding? Tell us what you think;
contact opinions@ theotherpress.ca with your
opinions about this or any other article

 

 

 

 

 

 

A necessary break between New Year’s and Easter

 

 

We need a day off in the winter months

By Trevor Doré, Opinions Editor

ow that the Christmas holiday season
N= come to an end, it’s back to school

and back to work until April. The
months of January, February and March are
notoriously dark and cold and the thought
of no break until the Easter long weekend in
April can make the stretch seem even longer.
Often, people will take a vacation and go to
some remote sunny location. This works great
for those who can afford it however, for those
who can’t I suggest the implementation of a
statutory holiday to break up the
long holiday-less stretch.

According to Service |
Canada “the primary purpose of
statutory holidays is to provide
employees some workdays off to
enjoy as leisure time or to engage
in other activities, while ensuring
through holiday pay, that they
are not penalized financially -
during that period.” In B.C. we
currently have nine statutory holidays: New
Year’s Day (January), Good Friday (April),
Victoria Day (May), Canada Day (July),
British Columbia Day (August), Labour Day
(September), Thanksgiving Day (October),
Remembrance Day (November) and Christmas
Day (December).

While nine statutory holidays is more than
what some of the other Canadian provinces
receive, two provinces, Saskatchewan
and the North West Territories have ten
statutory holidays. In Alberta, Ontario and
Saskatchewan, the third Monday in the month
of February is a statutory holiday known as
Family Day, a day to emphasize the importance
of spending time with the family and building
family values. Family Day also corresponds
with Presidents Day in the United States. So
if our neighbours to the south and to the east
all have a holiday during the gloomy winter
months, why don’t we?

The idea of a February statutory holiday
in B.C. is not new and has been proposed in

14

   
 

the past. Proposed by the B.C. Federation of
Labour, the idea of another statutory holiday
was quickly rejected by the B.C. Chamber of
Commerce and the provincial government. The
idea was rejected on the basis of economics.
According to the Chamber of Commerce, every
stat holiday costs approximately $270 million.
Lose of productivity is a very real objection

to the proposition of another stat holiday,
especially in tough economic times.

Although an additional stat may come
with a price tag, I think it might also come with
multiple benefits. Often times, people become
sick and run down during the winter
months. An additional stat would
give employees something to look
forward to, to boost morale and boost
productivity. Family Day would give
workers a day of much needed rest
and allow them to spend priceless
time with family and friends. People
are working increasingly long
» hours. Another holiday would help
the work-life balance. Quite often,
people go away for a long weekend, up to
Whistler for a ski trip or simply to the local
mountains. Others take a trip across the border
or spend the day shopping. In the end, it always
seems to come down to economics—do the
costs outweigh the benefits?

While there are many other issues to be
dealt with on a day-to-day basis, a stat holiday
could yield favourable benefits. This year,
students will be granted two weeks of time
off in February to make way for the 2010
Olympics. While many will have to work to
maintain financial security during this time,
take the opportunity and take an extra day off.
Perhaps that extra day off will make all of the
difference. A day off in February sounds good
to me, perhaps something worth considering as
a permanent trend for the future.

 

 

Fuming? Nodding? Tell us what you think; contact
opinions @ theotherpress.ca with your opinions
about this or any other article

 

 

 

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