In 2009, the rules of my experiment were:
Finish eating what we have in the cupboards.
New purchases must meet the local, seasonal, organic, sustainably farmed criteria.
Fish must be wild and caught in a sustainable manner and as local as possible.
Eggs must be cage free, with an organic diet.
Poultry must be pastured, fed an organic diet and local.
Milk, cheese and cream must come from local dairies (not dairy pools).
Honey must be organic or close as possible and local.
Fruits, vegetables, legumes and grains must be local and organic from small, mostly self-sustaining farms.
Anything not on this list must be made by me from the above ingredients or by local farmers or food artisans.
Coffee, chocolate, coconut oil and sugar are exempt but must be fair trade and shade grown (except sugar which must still be organic and fair trade.)
Any other purchases must be from US sources.
Update: By 2010 all produce and most fruits, plus eggs and some meat were coming from my yard. By 2011 most meat and dairy were coming from my yard. In 2013 I hope to have honey and mushrooms, as well as all meat coming from my yard. My final frontier in 2014 will be all animal forage coming from my yard. Will I make it?
Honey here, bees still buzzing, increasing bee supportive growth. Innoculated logs for mushrooms should bloom with the spring rains, and a turkey tail volunteered (good against breast cancer). Having friends for rabbit dinner soon and the chickens and ducks are on patrol in a garden still green with brassicus and fava beans. Rabbits are in with the chickens now. Made my first homemade eggnog and discovered how good Organic Valley milk is. Best wishes. See you at the Flower and Garden Show in Seattle. Chris
Chris you are so amazing – I can’t wait to get into the mushroom logs! Thank you so much for all your help at the Country Living Expo. Can’t wait to see you at the Flower and Garden Show next weekend (yikes, I’d better get my slideshows going!)