The Vegetannual

I've decided to become a more ethical eater. I am reading and enjoying Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. In my domestic fantasies I like to imagine myself moving south and owning a large garden (pretty much exactly like Mildred and Phillip Greer's) where I would have blueberry bushes, and sour apple trees, and tomatoes. And a swimming pool (or hole). But that's beside the point. Kingsolver and her family moved from Tucson, AZ to Virginia farm country to begin an adventure of a year of living entirely off the fruit (and vegetables and animals) of the labors of themselves and their neighbors. Which is what the book is about. That and the plight of the farmer, the plight of the food, and the politics that we involve ourselves in for better or worse by what we put in our grocery cart. Of course, she makes her case without being as melodramatic as all that.
So I, while I have the luxury of pleasing mainly myself, am going to try to become a more ethical eater.
Meaning that I will try to cut down on exotic foods (like those from Cali and Florida) that have travelled many miles on the tax payers dollar (!) and establish brand and farmer loyalty with foods grown in the tri-state area. And eat produce in season like the vegetannual!
Today my roommates and I got our first weekly shipment of food from the CSA. Its a local farmer-urban eater exchange. A limited amount of people are allowed to sign up each year and pay up front for 28 weeks of fresh produce delivery. Every Thursday for the next 28 weeks one of my roommates or I will walk down to the community center between 4-7 to pick up whatever the farmers have for us this week. Its pretty exciting. We got: 1 bunch of spinach, 1 bunch of arugula, 1 head of lettuce, radishes, and 1 bunch of another green I don't remember or recognize.
I am also going to regular the Farmer's Market in Union Square on Saturdays. And research some close-to-Queens brands for things I can't get there. So New York City peeps keep up. I'll post my findings!