Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Golden

In the past year or so, I began imposing on myself the rule that when possible, I would not buy foods that were not produced nearby. In New Zealand, that meant foods from Australia and NZ; now it means mostly from the USA's West Coast and maybe Mexico or Canada. Basically, I'm trying to reduce my carbon footprint (international shipping waste and all that) and also eat foods that I know are fresher because they haven't traveled as far. Of course there are downsides like no winter strawberries having to scour Napa for savignon blanc that even slightly resembles the deliciousness of Nelson Marlborough vinyards, but overall it's working pretty well. In winter I eat oranges and I just bought a bottle of California wine this weekend that's touted to "make the New Zealanders shake in their kiwi fields."

But then I was at the market this weekend and there they were...
GOLDEN KIWIFRUIT

Golden kiwifruit, for the uninitiated, is like regular kiwifruit, but with superpowers. They've got the same flavour and sweetness as the traditional green kind, but are less acidic, so you can eat bucketloads without your tongue going raw. Plus, they have softer flesh so they're easier to eat with a spoon. I had never seen the golden ones until moving to NZ, and had never heard of them being sold in the US.

I picked one up, praying that it would miraculously say "California" on the sticker, but no, there was the "New Zealand" label. What to do? Indulge myself at the expense of the ozone layer, or stick to Washington red delicious apples as my snack fruit for the week? Admit a failure of willpower, or declare triumph over my temptations? I chose the latter, and there is now a pile of furry little brown gems sitting in my fruit bowl, disappearing one by one.

In order to avoid further on-the-spot moral compromises, I decided to come up with a list of exceptions to my rule, so I know that next time I see them at the supermarket, I'll suck it up, buy them, and not drive my car as much for the week.
-Tim Tams
-Kumara
-Kapiti Ice Cream (preferably golden kiwifruit and pavlova flavoured)
-Griffin's Malt Biscuits (for making lolly cake)
-Pods
-Toffee Pops

Hey Godzone dwellers: I can think of a really good way how I could get all these things ethically imported (except the kumara maybe) AND get a chance to see you at the same time...

7 comments:

Roni said...

Consider it done, cuz. :)

Roni said...

Oh, and should I pack Marmite?

Geetha said...

No, I prefer vegemite. You can really taste the yeasty difference

Peter said...

You know that kumara is just a fancy word for "sweet potato" right? ;-)

Jaya said...

Surely you can tell the difference between kumara and American sweet potatoes. Who would put mini marshmallows on kumara? :)

Jen said...

There's now some interesting things being studied in terms of local eating and how much goes into producing "local" crops and meat. So, in some cases, it's LESS of a carbon footprint to eat the import. For example, it's less of an imprint to eat lamb from Australia or NZ than from somewhere where there aren't naturally nutrients for that type of animal.
But it's all a bit confusing to me, still. We're also trying to do the local buying thing. It's an interesting challenge. It was easy during the summer...

talda said...

do you find it easier to eat locally in a state like california than in some other places?