FOOD GLORIOUS FOOD

SO for the first segment of our Indian Summer, we are concentrating on, you might have guessed it, FOOD!

And if you've asked yourself why are these crazy girls concentrating on only eating local food, well hey you are in the right place to find out!

1. It's just better for the earth. It's the right thing to do to make everyone happy and healthy. SO much oil, water, and other fossil fuels and resources (including food) are wasted in the production of food.
example: for 16 lbs of grain and soy fed to beef cattle, we only get 1 lb of meat on our plates (the grain has 21x more calories, and 8x more protein, but only 3x more fat than the 1 lb)

2. So much is wasted in the production of food when there are people starving everywhere.
  "One billion people in the world are chronically hungry and one billion are overweight. "

3. Fresh food uses less water.
example: the ratio of water to produce 1 pound of protein from the food source from fresh to processed food in
        corn to canned corn 1/390mgs
        hamburger to hotdog 60/880mgs
        rice to minute rice 1/700 mgs

4. HEALTH "So many of our most dreaded diseases are related to the 'food' we now eat--the good news- we can reduce our chances of getting these diseases [obesity, cancer from antibiotics, heart disease, hyper-tension] when we control what we eat."

5. The definition of food has changed in our society. Now children answer that food comes from a box or a store. Some cannot identify vegetables in their natural shape. Do not realize they come from the ground.

6. We are constantly consuming hidden sugars, instead of eating more raw and local food.

7. "Whenever you eat what might be called inefficient food [ex. beef], you're consuming more of the planet's energy than you need to live well."
example: "Eating a typical family-of-four steak dinner is the rough equivalent, energy wise, of driving around in an SUV for three hours while leaving all the lights on at home."
-free-range, humanely raised beef is important (for ethical, environmental, and health reasons), but we need to consume less meat in general. "Eat less meat, but eat better meat."


Stay tuned for tips on what YOU can do to make a difference (specifically in Charlottesville), and reflections on our personal experiences.

In the beginning.

The Indian Summer has officially begun. On our first night, we had lots of friends over for desserts made a la local.  Check out the pics below!

What we used to eat.

What we're eating now!

Local eggs + honey for baking!

Our first Indian Summer lunch.

Good fruit.

Our friends started arriving!

It's dessert, not desert, because you want more.

Apple cobbler/peach cobbler.

Carrot cupcakes!

Our friends, enjoying some dessert and company.

So many people!

One of the guests signing the guest book.

Yeah. That salad was good.

Stay tuned for our official carbon footprint calculation!

T MINUS

7 DAYS.
7 DAYS.
Indian Summer officially begins in 7 days.

During the Indian Summer, we'll focus on reducing our carbon footprint through 5 different ways: (1) Local food & goods; (2) Recycling & composting; (3) Electronics; (4) Water ; and (5) Walking, biking, and mass transit.  While we keep our carbon footprint as low as possible, we'll spend about a week and a half focusing on each part in our blog, telling you all about our tricks, tips, and experiences!  First, we'll spend 8 days on food (and finish the Indian Summer with 8 days on local goods).

A few things we'll be sure to have up in the next few days: the start of an Indian Summer Bookshelf, A Few of Our Favorite Local Things, a space for people to make pledges along side of us, and shout outs to some very supportive, helpful people in this process.


Peace, love, and everything local!

A VERY IMPORTANT DATE

[AUGUST 24th-NOVEMBER 11th]


So, these dates are based on the time an Indian Summer would be. In ancient Rome, the "dog days" went through August 24th. In Western Europe during the Middle Ages, they celebrated St. Martin's Day on November 11, which was the end of their Indian Summer (which conveniently for us, is  80 days). SO there you have it. That's why we are doing it when we are doing it. Get pumped.

Funnertime.

We have been too silent for too long. The time has come to speak up.  What have we been doing all summer?

Sarah: Well, to be frank, I cannot wait to get back to Charlottesville to begin this adventure. I am currently in Disney World in Orlando working in a quick service restaurant. Let's just say it is the opposite of our plan in the Indian Summer. And as fun as this place is, I can safely say I am very excited to eat healthy, local, and fresh food. There just is so much waste--and I know they are following  regulations and that's just how commercial places work, but it makes me sad (I will stop here, but check out my blog for more about summer project). It has been hard here because we are sleep deprived, working hard and having fun and trying to find time and places to eat. So let's just say I'm not that proud of how I've been eating and not exercising (besides the standing on my feet and walking for 7 hours at work).  Today I finally had a couple hours to go grocery shopping and I had the best spinach strawberry salad ever. Well, when you are craving vegetables like a desert craves rain, you think it's the best ever. It was pretty stellar. That's really all I have to say. Alas, I haven't had much time to research a lot this summer, but I think it will happen as we go.

Arley: I've been living in Charlottesville this summer, taking class, working, and of course, hitting up the market!  The Indian Summer transition has been a little slow so far.  Right now, I am adding more local produce to my diet (and trying to transition out of any food from far away).  My friend Will planted a garden by the side of my house! Which means I'll be eating SUPER local tomatoes soon.  I also have cut back on meat a lot-I'm not buying/cooking meat myself, and I'm mostly not eating any meat at all, especially red meat.  Sometimes though, I eat chicken or fish.  I think my body needs some time to get used to the veggie diet. But I'm excited to be on an all-local fresh diet soon! I think I'll feel great.  Also, I never work out.  So I PROMISE you I will go running at least 3 times this week, for at least 2 miles each time.  That way, when I can't take a car anywhere, I can survive biking several miles around Cville's very scary hills everyday. I just started class again, so between taking class, working, and just hanging out with people, it will be a challenge to keep all that balanced.  It'll be great I'll keep you posted from Cville!



Things to look forward to in the next few weeks: a list of books and resources we find helpful as we get closer to the Indian Summer; some recipes; fun stories; sweet pics of what the Indian Summer looks like; and the sweet happy reunion of Sarah and Arley.

The Wonder Symposium

UVA hosted the Second Annual Sustainability Symposium waaaaaaaay back on April 20. Sure that was a long time ago (an entire month, right?), but it was just so great that we're still not over it. The Symposium was kind of like the kick-off to the Indian Summer. That's when it all became official. We had the AWESOME opportunity to talk to lots of amazing people: from county and city workers, to representatives of Aramark (UVA's dining services), to really excited community members who had great ideas and suggestions for us (like the idea that we can have people pledge with the Indian Summer!). Our main goal in participating in the symposium was to meet people and start talking about our ideas. That's where the Indian Summer is at right now: we just kind of came up with this idea out of nowhere, and we're really looking for information and support from the community! So, if you have any ideas, comment on the blog, or shoot an email to indiansummercville@gmail.com and let us know what you think!


Peace, love, & everything local.

I'm Just So Puntiful

"If I were punished for every pun I shed, there would not be left a puny shed of my punnish head." -Samuel Johnson

I just love puns, so of course "The Indian Summer" is a pun. We are calling it an Indian Summer for two reasons. First, we got the name from the extremely low gross carbon footprint of India in comparison to other countries, specifically the US. Secondly, we were inspired by the old phrase "Indian summer", which means unseasonably warm weather in the fall, in places where it is typically cold during that time. So we're going to have an "Indian summer-footprint" during the "Indian Summer time"--beginning in mid-August through early November. The time is based off of a few ancient festivals that mark a typical Indian Summer.

Clever? Yes. So if you're interested in joining in some way, look forward to some info on how you can pledge to reduce your carbon footprint in one area (ie water, electricity, food) during that time.