“If you just think exclusively about what would be the best tasting or most profitable, you’re just not seeing the big picture”

~ Dan Barber

Sustainability. What does it mean? And why is it so important?

You will get a multitude of answers to the above questions depending on who you ask. It can vary based on a myriad of factors including the environmental, social and economic conditions in a given region.  

The EPA’s formal definition of sustainability is:

“The idea of sustainability—commonly defined as the ability to maintain or improve standards of living without damaging or depleting natural resources for present and future generations—was ingrained as a foundation of environmental law with the signing of the 1969 National Environmental Policy Act.Jun 26, 2018″   ~ United States Environmental Protection Agency

What I know for certain is that instituting sustainable living habits into our daily lives is crucial to our future, and we need to work together to achieve long-term sustainability.

Farmers, restaurateurs, chefs, Individuals and communities who work towards more sustainable living at the local level will ultimately have an affect globally.  Our daily routines, including the decisions we make regarding where we source our ingredients for home & restaurant cooking, what restaurants and food purveyors we support, and how we grocery shop are not small ones. They are all examples of ways we can use our choices to begin making a large-scale difference.

I am passionate about the issues of sustainability, food waste and exploring solutions for the food disadvantaged.  I believe they are all directly intertwined.

Read below to learn about a significant project that I have recently begun working on.

Over the next 12 months I will be sharing Farm to Fork stories of sustainability.*  I plan to highlight farms and the restaurants that source from them throughout Minnesota and beyond.  This will include every type of farm (indoor/outdoor, dairy, produce, meat, goat, seafood etc…).  I will be writing and posting stories regarding their sustainability efforts.  It’s imperative to know about the connection between our restaurateurs and farmers in order to increase the awareness of where the food we consume is grown as well as the effects those choices have on our planet.

I will examine the “whys and hows” of  local and global sustainability efforts.  My goal is to help connect the public with the best ways to make sustainable choices.

Readers and fellow bloggers, I would love for you to comment and let me know about your sustainable endeavors as well.  I would like to create a feature on how consumers are making sustainable choices when they shop for everything from groceries, to clothes, cleaning products and more.

I hope you are inspired to follow along on this exciting and important journey with me.  If you are a chef/restaurateur or a farmer and would like to share your sustainability efforts please reach out to me.  I will be starting to schedule visits soon and would love to add you to my calendar.

*This project will be in addition to my usual food/recipe and travel posts so continue to watch for those.  It’s going to be an exciting year!

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