You’ve heard the backstory.  You’ve seen the freezer.  Today, our interview with Mangochild finishes up with a look at the best and worst parts of being a locavore, along with what the future holds.  Enjoy!

Have you had any unexpected and positive side effects from living as a locavore?

One positive consequence is that I am becoming more outgoing. I am generally a quiet person with all but my parents, but this has pushed me into a community of sorts and given me a reason to really speak up for my views in an expressive way (without pushing it on anyone, just explaining my choice) while connecting with others (see above) to build resources. It’s also immunized me to my fear of bugs! Almost my whole life, I was terrified of pretty much all bugs and just hid inside when they would come around. I shrieked at the tiniest fly and would drive the family mad. But somehow, through my modest gardening ventures this past summer, that all disappeared. While I don’t love them, I am okay with their presence, see their effects on the world (good and bad), learn how to be proactive against the negative effects, and just generally am more focused on the joy of my garden than the bugs. What else? I feel like I am more aware and conscious of my choices. I really believe that we all make the choices as we can in the moment, given our needs and resources, as well as the pressures and strains we are experiencing at the time. What I can do now might be either less or more than I will be able to do in 5 years. What I can do might be out of reach for another, maybe because of cost or time. That’s okay.  We should each do what’s right for us, as long as it is an informed and conscious decision. I might choose to drink milk, others believe that it is not the right choice for them for ethical reasons.  Others eat meat even though I don’t. That’s okay. But back to the answer, being local has made me understand better why I choose what I do/don’t. I can’t think of making a decision blindly. Information and reason is so important to me, and being local has built that up so much.

Have you had any unexpected and negative side effects from living as a locavore? (time investments, relationships with friends or family, miscommunications, etc.)

Not really. It does take time, but I think that is because of the learning curve. This is my first year out, so I have to build my food shed knowledge, resources, storage mechanisms (freezer, dehydrater, canning equipment, “cool dark place”), etc. from scratch. I had that hunting-50-places-to-get-carrots thing at first because I didn’t know what was/wasn’t available and how to get it. My family can attest to all that time we spent looking and their exasperation with that many a day. But even in the past months, I can see how I am getting more efficient. Weekly CSA pickup on the farm, local milk at the dairy I chose (or even in the mainstream grocery thanks to The Farmer’s Cow local cooperative). Its all becoming a habit. Flour ordered every month, and knowing how much I use in any given time. So all that is an upfront investment in time and money, but I can sense it is easier each month and year.

In terms of my relationships, I have had to do a lot of explaining, since I get asked a lot of questions.  While I don’t bring it up unless someone asks, it is something I am open about and like to share.  I wrote a post about the thoughts I have of living local in the wider world.  Honestly, it can take people aback, some thinking I am a bit obsessive or even off the deep end.  And some asking what I will do without oranges this winter. :)  Still, it has been easier than I thought, though, especially since there is even more awareness of and publicity for local eating in the mainstream media and culture. Recently, stores have been required to identify what country their produce comes from, and many even identify the state/farm, especially if it is local. This makes it easier, as people are already tuned into it. There has also been a lot of discussion in newspapers like the NY Times and others, as well as books like Animal Vegetable Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver that have been well-received.

As regards work, the decision I made about business-necessity fits into that to keep me from tanking my career, and co-workers are good about understanding on a daily basis, particularly since they are already used to me (and a couple others) being vegetarians or having religious-based dietary needs. It has kind of been taken in stride, although I don’t really announce it or make it a big deal. I don’t expect people to bend over to accommodate me (e.g., I bring my own lunch to departmental lunch meetings rather than request they provide a special meal for me), and I try to be considerate of them.

So, would you describe this as a personal challenge for a year, or is this a life-shift?

This is definitely a life-undertaking. As I suggested above, the way I am doing this is the way and scope that I can now, it might be different (greater, smaller, or just different) at another point in my life. But I am committed to local eating and support of my local farmers/producers, and will still be in the years to come. I hope to keep up the 100 miles for a long time. Because I have the fundamental reasons for why I made this choice, and know that they are reasons I have thought out and truly believe in, I think it is do-able in the big picture.

And that, folks, is all she wrote.  For now.  If you want more of a taste of who Mangochild is and what the process has been like for her as she works to shrink her foodshed and grow her local food community, step on over to Mangochild’s blog.  Take a look.  Read a while.  Drop her a note.

Build something new.