Being a young recent college grad, I’m often asked to dine on fancy Maki Rolls. I must admit, from time to time, I enjoy indulging in fresh raw fish. But more often, I leave my friends and colleagues baffled as I simply take a pass on sushi.
I try to explain that I feel guilty every time I take a bite of fresh fish while living in middle in Chicago. To me, there is too much involved in the process of getting that fish onto my plate. It’s not because I don’t believe it’s fresh – I honestly believe that our technology is great enough to deliver me fresh fish – rather it’s that I don’t believe in consuming food that I KNOW takes gallons upon gallons of fuel to reach me. I have thus resolved that I will try to only eat fish that: 1) I caught or 2) I know has come from within a hundred miles or so of the place I’m dining at.
I have always tried to consume food that is “local” because it is inherently better for all of us. Not just from a nutritional standpoint, or in terms of freshness. But look at it through the lens of energy consumption. If trucks and trains keep barreling towards your locus every day to bring you food from far away, how much more pollution will enter your environment in the name of putting food on your plate?
Recently I was reminded why we should all be more conscientious of the food we eat. This reminder came in the form of a documentary (soon-to-be released) about the enormous amount of damage we’ve done to our oceans from overfishing. Not only are fish populations at severe risk, but whole oceanic ecosystems hang in the balance as well. The documentary, called The End of the Line, raises not only questions about the fish we eat, but about our whole food system. Equally eye-opening is another documentary, called Food Fight, that will critique our industrialized food system. I anxiously await both, and hope that we can all change our eating habits to better, more sustainable methods.
Today I conducted some quick research on what seemed like an endless list of edible fruits and vegetables that are local to Isla Palenque’s tropical climate. My main goal was to identify the best options available to grow on Isla Palenque as part of our organic local farm. The produce we grow will be for the consumption of people living on and visiting the island. Some of my luscious findings: Mamon Chino, Mamey Sapote, Guanabana, Borojo, Caimito, and many more!
TAGS: Ecosystems Fishing Food & Drink Isla Palenque Panama Panama Food & Drink Sustainability
