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The 100 Mile Trial

Phil - Reflections on the 100 mile


Writing this reflection on a stuffy February afternoon, 2 months after having done the 100 Mile Trial, I find that my memory of the first week in December is a little hazy but essentially very positive.

One of the reasons for the positive associations with the week is that I had a sense of fulfillment and achievement in getting through the week in the spirit of the trial – it was by no means an easy thing to do, so it felt good on that level. The main reason I was able to do it was because of other people – those who planned and researched where different food groups came from and those in the trial group with whom I shared meals during the week.

 

 

In fact, I knew beforehand that because I’m living alone at the moment, planning meals with others was going to make the week not only more achievable but also more enjoyable. As it was, one of the groups I’m part of, the Western TEAR Action Group (a social justice oriented group) had two end of year functions involving food so my friends Louise & Joel (part of this group as well as the 100 mile trial crew) and I planned to make these events ‘100 Mile Trial Friendly’. Both functions were really enjoyable, with one result being that others in the WESTAG group became more educated about the possibilities about eating so locally. Louise’s home made spelt pasta was a lot of effort and a big hit!

On the Thursday night a group of six of us met for dinner at the 100 Mile Café in the city. Not only was this an enjoyable treat (not having to cook but still eating delicious food grown and produced locally) but it was also good to share our experiences and encourage each other at the just past half way stage of the trial. Then of course there were the brekky to kick off the week and the dinner to close the week which Nick has detailed in his diary, which again were really enjoyable and satisfying food sharing experiences (in more ways than one).

A lot of the other food I consumed during the week was also the result of others’ work. This included the honey, the chicken, the butter, not to mention the fruit and veges from the local organic cooperative that I am part of, WOC, which for the week of the trial had helpfully bought produce from within 100 miles. I also made a few trips to a fruit shop, a bakery in North Fitzroy and Footscray Coles, which stocked the True Organic cheese as well as the biodynamic yoghurt and organic milk which I found out after buying it was produced in Victoria but beyond the 100 mile boundary – this was my regular ‘compromise’ for the week.

My other compromise was a family baptism meal and 21st birthday party – I realised that without coming up with a plan B beforehand it was going to be too hard to be “pure” during these special events so I just enjoyed myself and savoured some of the “forbidden” food - and beer!

But this is not to mention the MASSIVE failure of self control (it would be called a ‘critical fumble’ by some of the young people in my church community) that I had one day at work. A colleague of mine who I had told about the 100 mile trial (I’m sure he thought that it was just another weird thing that I do) brought in some leftover chocolate mud cake from his daughter’s party to share with staff in our office. Of course not only was this cake obviously not grown and produced within 160 k’s (I don’t know of too many cocoa farms near Melbourne) but it was almost certainly not made from fair trade cocoa, hence quite possibly harvested by child slaves in West Africa. For at least a day, or possibly two, I looked at the cake that was sitting centimetres from my desk and managed not to touch it! However one morning I came to work and noticed that someone had put a slice of the cake ON MY DESK. In a moment of unrestrained passion and shutting out any visions of African children or extra greenhouse gases being pumped into the air, I stuffed the cake into my mouth. It was so rich and creamy - but it had a distinctly bitter aftertaste!

Having fully confessed my ‘sins’ I must say that the overall experience though was not one of failure but more of success. In fact I think that because I decided to be kind to myself and not be too legalistic (but to still aim for 80-90%) was one of the reasons it was such an enjoyable week for me. And I think following the spirit not the ‘letter of the law’ is an important principle in making eating locally sustainable and enjoyable over a period of time.

Probably the biggest thing I gained out of the experience was having my awareness about food miles expanded. Especially learning that a lot of foods are produced locally and finding out exactly where to source them from. It was really encouraging to do the trial with a group of others. I would recommend doing this trial to others if there are other people around you who are also keen to share the work, be stretched and inspired to living a bit more sustainably.

 

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