Local food and Marcha por la Vida

I mentioned last time that while I was visiting the generous Macas family plantation, Don Macas's wife prepared us sweetened coffee and some fresh corn humitas which we ate after we drank the fresh coconut water, scooped the coconut flesh out of the coconut, and drank aguardiente (a common liquor made out of sugarcane- it means "fiery water" or "burning water" from the verb arder, to burn) mixed with fresh orange juice. I was lucky enough to see where absolutely all of our food came from- I saw the corn stalks which had obviously been used for the humitas, as well as sugar cane (which I learned had passed through a trapiche- a sugar mill- to make a crude sweetener) and coffee trees, both of which were later roughly processed to make the sweetened coffee. I watched the entire process of "harvesting" coconuts, and I saw the orange tree, although the oranges must have been picked before we got there. To say the least, the food would have been qualified by any foodie as "local". I'll get back to "local" food in Ecuador soon...

But first, out in Quinindé last weekend, my profe gave a charla or a chat about the Marcha por el Agua, la Vida, y la Dignidad de los Pueblos- the March for Water, Life and Dignity of the People. This is a march convened by many different indigenous groups, all who are protesting against the government's plans to continue with a Chinese copper mining project in the Amazon. They argue that the mining will contaminate their water sources, force people off of their land, and contribute to further socio-economic disparity, especially since mining is a high-technology and low-employment generating endeavor. The march started on 8 March in Zamora in the Amazon, and they are set to arrive in Quito tomorrow. There's even a Change.org petition about it (follow links!).

So, in Quinindé my profe was talking with some local producers, explaining some of the demands for fairer land reform laws. He was explaining that while large-scale farming is usually thought to be more productive, this is largely because large-scale farming usually has access to irrigation, is located closely to roads, has good drainage systems, and generally has high-quality soils. Small farmers are left with poor land without easy access to roads, water, or drainage. Still, despite that, he said that 70% of all of the food that is consumed in Ecuador is produced by small farmers, something that certainly contradicts the idea that small scale farming can't be efficient or productive. (Small farmers in this case are defined as those with 10 hectares or less - a little less than 25 acres or less.). To help make the comparison, the size of the average farm in the US is 441 acres.

This made me think a lot about where my food comes from, if only because my entire thesis essentially attempts to analyze ways to inform consumers about where the cocoa in their chocolate bars come from (among many other elements of my thesis). Here in Quito, I buy almost all of my vegetables from a weekly co-op and/or from a weekly open air market, where I also buy almost all of my fruits. I can get some grains (wheat berries, quinoa, amaranth, whole wheat flour) from the co-op, and I also buy fresh goat cheese and some assorted other items- occasionally bread, avocados, fresh herbs, etc. At the supermarket, I buy processed foods or staples that I can't get at the markets- pasta, brown rice, panela, peanut butter, yogurt, milk, and most other cheese products. Everything but the pasta and peanut butter are all Ecuadorian-made products (they have a slogan here: mucho mejor si es hecho en Ecuador- much better if it's made in Ecuador). They probably come from small scale farms as well.

According to Wiki-something or Ask.com (highly reputable sites), Ecuador is more or less the same size as Wyoming. Imagine that 70% of your food comes from just within your state. This is obviously a tough comparison- Ecuador has pretty varied terrain that most states might not have; you can produce pineapple and coconuts along the coast, in tropical lowlands, or in the Amazon, and you can also produce high altitude quinoa, potatoes, and corn throughout the sierra. Still, it's pretty amazing.

I've been thinking a lot about my friend Katie (hi Katie! update your blog!) who has been working on a farm in Pennsylvania and writing about local food for the last year or so. Talking about eating locally and seasonally is pretty important in the US, where you can easily eat strawberries in December and pumpkins in July if you want to. (I'll come right out and admit that I definitely don't eat exclusively in season in the US, and I've definitely been known to purchase a peach in February. Even here in Ecuador, I regularly purchase green grapes that are probably imported from Chile and while they're seasonal there- hey, it's grape season in Chile!- the energy used to transport them probably counteracts any kudos for eating seasonally, chileno style.) Eating locally, organically, and seasonally in the US is often seen as a rich yuppie's problem, considering that some people struggle to eat in generally, let alone paying premiums for organic apples and free range eggs. Tons of people have written about this as a major problem of the US's agricultural system- that fresh food can often be more expensive than processed crap.

In Ecuador, that's not really the case. It's definitely cheaper to eat local, seasonal food, and many small farmers (definitely the case with cocoa!) can't afford chemicals, so while it might not be officially labelled "organic", lots of the produce is produced organically. Chickens are literally everywhere when you head out to the campo- any campo, highlands, lowlands, coastal, jungle- and most eggs are "free range", even if they're not labelled as such, because factory farmed chickens just aren't a big deal here. And because we're along the equator and don't have too much of a seasonal change (just rainy seasons), lots of foods can be produced more or less year long. There hasn't been a week in a long time when I haven't bought strawberries, for example, which are produced outside of Otavalo.

Basically, this is a long-winded post to talk about just how lucky I am, gastronomically, to have access to all of this yummy food. And to mention that something is seriously wrong with our agricultural system in the US when corn subsidies help keep processed food and meat unnecessarily cheap. If you're having trouble eating seasonally in the US, consider moving south! Outrageous prices on lots of imported, non-seasonal products help keep most people eating seasonally, whether they realize it or not. I would be pleased to welcome anyone who wants to come visit (COME VISIT, YOU GUYS!) and experience Ecuador's local delectable produce!