From Farm to Fork -- Local Food Guide Published Online and in Print

Promoting the locavore concept of eating food grown locally, this statewide project in online and print format has gotten some help from the Environmental Defense Center.

The guide is available online at www.buylocalca.org. Printed copies are available at certified farmers markets around the region and at select restaurants, retailers, and farm stands including: Environmental Defense Center, Fund for Santa Barbara, Isla Vista Food Co-op, The Orfalea Foundation, Fairview Gardens, Santa Barbara County Farm Bureau, and Sojourner Restaurant.

The online guide itself is a good start but some of the search tools could use a bit of work. I typed in a local zip code and got different info than when I did the search by area. Both search results gave me minimal information on where local farms were and where I could buy local food. Still, it's a great idea and I wish them well.

Are you ready for a 100-mile diet though? Many economists point out that transport is only part of the total impact of food production and consumption. In the Wikipedia article listed above, it fairly points out:

...any environmental assessment of food that consumers buy needs to take into account how the food has been produced and what energy is used in its production. For example, it is likely to be more environmentally friendly for tomatoes to be grown in Spain and transported to the UK than for the same tomatoes to be grown in greenhouses in the UK requiring electricity to light and heat them.

Another part says:

According to a study by engineers Christopher Weber and H. Scott Matthews of Carnegie Mellon University, of all the greenhouse gases emitted by the food industry, only 4% comes from transporting the food from producers to retailers. The study also concluded that adopting a vegetarian diet, even if the vegetarian food is transported over very long distances, does far more to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, than does eating a locally grown diet.

Is this kind of like buying a Prius with a $5,000 battery? Not really as it depends on who you buy your food from. Overall, it is a good idea to buy locally from responsible growers but I can't imagine keeping it local for every meal. The again, maybe it's time to go vegan.

Sphere of Influence Discussion in Goleta

Spheres of influence allows cities the ability to create boundaries for which they are interested in annexation and future development. Next week, the City of Goleta has a series of workshops related to this issue. Thanks to City Council Watcher for passing this info along.

Why is it important? The proposed sphere includes Goleta Beach Park which is run by the County of Santa Barbara -- is the City of Goleta ready to take that on? The sphere extends north of Cathedral Oaks to the Forest Service boundary, runs beyond Tecolote Creek and out to the shoreline at the Bacara Resort. These areas include two large areas of undeveloped land that is currently zoned for agriculture -- will this help or hinder keeping it that way?

A map is on the September 4th council agenda on the City's website. Here are the dates of the upcoming workshop:

Tuesday, September 4th at 6 pm
Sphere of Influence discussion

Saturday, September 15th 9 am to 3 pm
First General Plan workshop

Thursday, September 27th 6 pm to 8:30 pm
Second general Plan workshop

Friday, October 5th 9 am to 3 pm
General Plan housing element workshop

Wednesday, October 17th 6 pm to 8:30 pm
Third General Plan workshop