The 100-Mile Diet: A Year of Local Eating.

Nikki Tate-Stratton writes children’s picture books and novels for
preteens. Her most recent novels are Jo’s Triumph, Raven’s Revenge,
and Tarragon Island. Her latest picture book is Grandparents’ Day.

What does fermenting cabbage smell like? What do Gloria Mundi, Ben Davis, Fameuse, and Lord Derby have in common? How much time does the average American spend stuck in a traffic jam each year? These questions (and many more) are answered in The 100-Mile Diet, a memoir of two Vancouver writers who decide to try to eat only locally grown food for a year. The Hundred-Mile Diet is eminently readable, educational, and inspiring. Arranged chronologically, each chapter is named for a month and begins with a recipe. The two authors take turns relating their experiences hunting down and preparing local foods (defined in this case as originating anywhere within a 100-mile radius of the couple’s apartment). Both writers seamlessly blend statistics and background information about food production and distribution, ecology, cooking, anthropology, botany, and biology with more personal observations and reflections. Despite the fact the authors touch on topics as complex as global economics, biodiversity, and evolution, the book never ceases to be entertaining and accessible. Perhaps as a result of both authors’ beguiling honesty (the reader is given a glimpse into the personal lives of both) and humility (one never feels preached to), the book is inspiring as well as practical.

Though Smith and MacKinnon live in Vancouver, the underlying questions raised and principles followed could be applied anywhere. Even the acknowledgments are worth reading: in addition to those referred to in the main text, several websites, books, individuals, and organizations are named that would be useful to anyone interested in further exploring local eating, food systems and culture, the slow food movement, and more.