Where does our food come from?

I was pleasantly surprised last week when an old friend e-mailed to let me know that he had been reading the blog. Matt has been living in Idaho for a number of years now and writes on topics related to the outdoors and, of course, local food. Here are two of the pieces he e-mailed me.

They are both short editorials.
Look behind the label offers a brief introduction to the array of "eco-labels" we encounter at the supermarket and how one can begin to make some sense of them.

Where's the beef from? asks the fundamental question of the local food movement.

Both pieces relate to this basic idea of connection. I wonder if this local food movement is a reaction against the increasing disconnect and isolation in our culture. The illustrations of our individual isolation in our everyday lives abound: the solitary commute to work, cubicles at work, Moms and Dads who rarely see each other because they are on different shifts at work, kids running to a dozen different activities, automated check-out lanes at the store, on-line shopping, and hours spent in front of our electronic distractions (computers, television, video games, movies...). What could be more basic to life than air, food, and water? Is it possible that food provides a sense of connection that we may not even be conscious of? Connection to the farmer who grows the food. Connection to the people we meet at the farm or market. Connection to the plants, animals, and land that provide our food.

"There are some who can live without wild things, and some who cannot. These essays are the delights and dilemmas of one who cannot.
Like winds and sunsets, wild things were taken for granted until progress began to do away with them. Now we face the question whether a still higher 'standard of living' is worth its cost in things natural, wild, and free. For us of the minority, the opportunity to see geese is more important than television, and the chance to find a pasque-flower is a right as inalienable as free speech...
We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect."
-- Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac

If you have never read "A Sand County Almanac," it is one of the seminal works in wilderness literature. Along with Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and John Muir, Aldo Leopold was one of the first European-Americans to clearly articulate an environmental ethic. I use the label European-American, because there were many Native Americans who had been speaking out against our careless use and destruction of the natural world for some time.

Second Hand Thoughts

I'll admit this right from the start: I hate shopping. There are few things that will put me in a foul mood the way that going shopping does, especially for stuff that eventually wears out, ends up in the trash, gathers dust in the basement, or ends up in a yard sale. I become apoplectic at the sight of a shopping mall and begin sputtering nonsense about the evils of capitalism, consumerism, slave labor in Indonesia, paving over open land for malls, and dying gorillas in Africa (look up cadmium mining in Africa). It may seem odd, therefore, that I actually enjoy shopping at second-hand stores, yard sales, and the like. Believe me, I'm not thrilled about the things that some people cast aside, but at least their would-be-trash is getting a second life, and it is amazing what you can find.

The hunt is what I enjoy. You never know what you'll find. As one thrift-store shopper once pointed out to me, "Any good pirate will tell you that it's all about the booty." The hunt for treasure encompasses yard sales, auctions, and second hand stores of all shapes and sizes. Buying second-hand is like recycling but better, because there's virtually no cost associated with giving things their second life.

Buying second-hand prevents a veritable multitude of villainies:

• it keeps perfectly good stuff from entering the waste stream,
• doesn't require the harvest and manufacture of virgin natural resources,
• doesn't support harsh or illegal labor practices like childlabor that are common in sweatshops and manufacturing worldwide,
• because most second-hand shops are local businesses, it puts money back into the local economy,
• it prevents new stuff from being manufactured.

Imagine it. The unfortunate consumer of new products has the bad karma of environmental degradation and social injustice on their conscience, but buying second-hand is virtually karma-free.

The flip-side of buying second-hand is giving away or selling your things once their useful life has ended. Yard sales are one option. Sharing your old things with friends and family is another good idea. Most second-hand shops will accept donated items, and some will pay you for your things or sell them on consignment.

Here are a few local shops:

Act II Consignment Shops, 5248 Molly Pitcher Hwy, Chambersburg, PA 17202. (717) 375-4884. Located on Rt 11, just South of the Marion Exit of I-81. Great shop. Well-organized and very neatly-kept. I bought five button-down shirts, three dress pants, and two ties (all by very nice name brands and in like-new condition) for $37.

Act II's primary location is in Hagerstown. I've never been to this location but it is purportedly just as nice and about one-third larger than the one on Rt 11. 13625 Pennsylvania Ave, Hagerstown, MD 21742. (301) 739-0552.

Dress To A Tea, 17 W King St, Chambersburg, PA 17201. (717) 267-0603. Downtown Chambersburg. I've never been there, but feel free to add a comment if you have.

Kid To Kid, 15 Shippensburg Shopping Ctr, Shippensburg, PA 17257. (717) 530-5437. My wife and I love this place. We buy our son toys and books here. They have children's clothes, toys, books, strollers, etc. They are in Shippensburg just off of the King St. exit of I-81 near K-mart.

Play It Again Sports. Great shop with all kinds of athletic equipment. They have two locations in the area: Hagerstown and Harrisburg.

13102 Pennsylvania Ave # A, Hagerstown, MD 21742. (301) 790-1365.

4141 Linglestown Rd, Harrisburg, PA 17112. (717) 731-9899.

CD Warehouse, 3832 Union Deposit Rd, Harrisburg, PA 17109. (717) 657-5336. Why pay retail? Once again I love this place for the thrill of searching for hidden treasure and for its quirkiness.

Northwood Books, 59 N Main St, Chambersburg, PA 17201, (717) 267-0606. Used Books.

Twice Read Books & Comics, 42 S Main St, Chambersburg, PA 17201, (717) 261-8449.

Post a comment if you have any other shops to add, comments on shops I've listed, or other ideas about second-hand stuff.