Bioregionalism

For the past few months I have been making a list of foods I can eat (in Fredericton) on the 100 mile diet…and comparing the list to foods I can eat on the Bioregion diet.

The Bioregion diet was a term given to me by Speelville Mills. I googled Bioregionalism and....everything clicked. I am not limiting my choices, I am making choices that help strengthen the economy, locally and regionally. Most of the foods I buy are from Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and PEI.

Here are a few quotes from their site:

What is bioregionalism?

"Bioregionalism is a fancy name for living a rooted life. Sometimes called "living in place," bioregionalism means you are aware of the ecology, economy and culture of the place where you live, and are committed to making choices that enhance them".

Bioregional eating

"Food is a basic necessity of life. One of the highest-impact actions you can take is to buy food grown locally and organically whenever you can.

If you live in a place that doesn't have a year-round growing season, ask yourself if you really need to eat lettuce or fresh strawberries in December, or if you could enjoy feasting on vegetables and fruits from the root cellar and locally-grown food frozen, canned or dried from the summer's harvest. Eating a diet appropriate to the climate not only avoids the costs and damage of transporting food; it is also healthful and wise."

I decided not to post the food lists. Once I started reading the Bioregion site…I just didn’t see the purpose to the lists. It is not about what you can and cannot have…it is about how you want to live.

This year has been all about how I could actually change the way I purchase food for all seasons.

Bioregionalism has been around for a long time. I have been trying to live it for the last few years…I just didn’t know it had a name.

http://www.greatriv.org/bioreg.htm