The 100-Mile Diet: A Year of Local Eating by Alisa Smith

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

• 
  OhWell

  Neat idea, even if the writing is tedious at times. I enjoyed reading the month by month journal, sprinkled with humour, and the occasional recipes. I wouldn't go to such extremes as the authors - just thinking of separating wheat grains from mouse poop makes my stomach turn - but I'm all for eating locally grown food, especially produce, whenever possible. I hope the book convinces others it's worth a try. Best reason: the taste, way better than whatever gets flown or trucked over from thousands of miles away!
  
  The other aspect of the book that resonated with me is the limited variety of fruits and vegetables available today. And I'm not talking about exotic imports. I never thought of investigating how many types of beans, tomatoes or apples used to be around, but I do have some personal experience of what we lost. A few years back we bought two varieties of heirloom tomato seedlings at a farmer's market. The tomatoes tasted so good that we saved the seeds and are now starting our own plants every year. At the same farmer's market we found, one fall, some extraordinary apples: Cox's Orange. There is only one elderly couple selling them, and they are available for a very short period of time. I believe the climate in our area isn't the best for the variety, and the family only has the one tree. They do have other apples and also pears, all heritage and all tasting quite different from the mainstream varieties. It's these unexpected and delicious surprises that a regular grocery store will never provide...
• 
  Lauren Ames

  A really quick and thoughtful read, not at all what I’d expected! This book manages to talk about our crazy (and depressing) food system without actually making me depressed. There were a few things that I wasn’t a fan of but overall I enjoyed it! The statistics and scientific background of local eating and global food systems were things I was familiar with, but it was interesting to read about it from a more personal perspective, with the facts being a part of a personal experience rather than an academic text.
• 
  Alex

  I really enjoyed reading this book. It added enough descriptiveness and flourish to the storyline to make more than a cut-and-dry how-to non-fiction about healthy eating. I live in Alberta, but want to move to Vancouver when I'm in grad school, so this will definitely help me with figuring out what is local and good to eat. I had to read this for school, but I'm glad I did, and I recommend it to anyone who wants to support local farms and eat a little bit healthier. =)
• 
  Patti Mcconnell

  This book is about eating locally or within a 100 mile radius of where the food was grown for a period of one year. This couple does not have children and they live in Canada. So...they cannot eat salt, wheat products, etc. The book is interesting, but at times they spend so much time and energy into finding the food, that it seems like it consumes their entire lives. Weekends are spent trying to find local growers, bee keepers for honey, etc. They fixed a dinner for 4 and it cost $124.00 because not all local food is cheap! The question then came up of, "If you eat beef and the cow did not eat grain that was locally grown, it is still a local food?" I agree with trying to support your local growers and eating healthier...and trying foods that you cannot find in your local supermarkets - but this was very extreme - but a good read nonetheless!
• 
  Delaney

  This is a very well written, interesting and funny book. It has a lot of really useful information about, of course, eating locally, but also about random bits of history as well as some intriguing recipes. It is very readable, as if you are having a friendly conversation with James and Alisa. It's quite personal too, delving into the minds, troubles and triumphs of the authors. It is completely inspiring and helps you realize how possible it is to understand what you're eating, how it's produced and where it's coming from, and of course how to do something about it. I totally recommend it.
• 
  Julia

  I really enjoyed reading it. I thought it would be slow going like reading a textbook, but instead it was a 1-year biography snapshot into this couples life experiment. Each chapter alternates author, which keeps it interesting. I would definitely recommend it, in fact, I have.
• 
  Denise Yuen

  Loved the story that chronicled the joys and difficulties in trying to eat and source all food within a 100 mile radius for a year. Made me really think how far my food travels and has inspired me to make a more concerted effort to eat locally!
• 
  Alanna King

  This book changed my life. I literally started behaving differently after reading it and I still think about it all the time.
  
  A must-read for all Canadians who want to understand more of the complexities of food, economics and ethical choices.
• 
  Josie

  This book has inspired me to try to buy locally grown food to reduce my carbon footprint. It has also helped to open my eyes to how many miles my food travels just to get to my plate.
• 
  Karishma Porwal

  100 mile diet follows James & Alisa, a couple that commits to eating only food grown within a 100 mile radius around their Vancouver apartment after becoming disillusioned and disappointed by our broken world food system.
  
  I learned so much from this book. James is a talented chef & I learned that there are so many flavours & foods that grow right here In North America that I’ve never tried.
  
  I learned about food histories of the Americas, how we lost our food diversity & how to bring it back.
  
  I learned about the environmental impact of “food miles”, how freshness & nutrition varies in imported foods and how small scale farmers across Canada & the States are using ancient & cutting edge techniques to make farming more sustainable.
  
  I also love how James & Alisa keep it real. There are certain obstacles with eating locally and they don’t sugarcoat it. It’s beautifully written with a heartfelt appreciation for all sorts of nourishment. You’ll fall back in love with eating & truly enjoying your meals. Pro tip: don’t read this book on an empty stomach
• 
  Ryan Cope

  What a supremely excellent, beautiful book. So well-written, this memoir is delicious delectable, and so vivid. My imagination was sparked by every turn of the page. The acknowledgements made me cry. If ever you feel as though you’re crazy for wanting to eat local, read this book for reassurance that in fact, it is the rest of the world that has completely lost their marbles. Eating food grown and produced near where we live is the way things ought to be and this book is a reminder of that fact. It’s not always easy but it is always interesting.
• 
  Brandy

  Well let me start off by saying that I really wasn't sure about this book.
  I bought it at Value Village for around $3.00 and it sat on my kitchen table for a day or two while I passed by it repeatedly. Eventually I picked it up and started reading, and had the unexpected pleasure of finding it very hard to put down.
  
  It's not my typical fiction novel that captures my interest because of far off lands and lovable characters.. And yet in some ways it was, because it encompassed a world I was unfamiliar with. The world of dirt, and gardening, and growing, and seasons and cycles.
  
  I got an inside glimpse into John and Alisa's life, in Vancouver where I've been before, but had never "seen" in such detail. And while the topic was something I was vaguely interested in, they pulled me in right from the start. From the descriptions of the amazing flavors, foods and recipes, to their interactions with local farmers, fishmongers, homesteaders, beekeepers and more.
  
  While others might say some of the facts could get a bit tedious (slightly true), there was still enough human interest to keep it going. By the end of the book I was looking up local farmers, and seeing how I could include local foods in my grocery shopping. I even signed up for a produce delivery from local farms that would come every two weeks.
  
  It made me think, and it made me take action. Those are both admirable qualities for a book to possess. Even further, it made me research other books to read, and next on my list is Locavore by Sarah Elton.
  
  Maybe this isn't a great review, because I'm not critiquing the writing, or technical aspects of the book. But it's given me a new perspective and in my opinion that's probably what the authors were trying to achieve so therefore I consider it a success.
  
  
• 
  Jayme

  The book that started the local eating diet craze. This is the first book that got me thinking about buying more local foods. Smith and Mackinnon give a great description of their adventure with local eating for a year in Vancouver. Also being from Vancouver I found this book doubly interesting. I don't think I would have had the same experience if they were talking about the local food culture of a different area.
  
  The one problem I had with this book was the extreme approach the authors took. They decided that absolutely nothing they ate during the year would come from more than 100 miles away. However, prior to this book they were both supposedly vegetarian. Not being able to find a suitable source of protein in the lower mainland, they just gave it up and started eating meat. Considering the idea of a local diet is to be more environmentally aware, I thought it was pretty disturbing that they advocated eating meat. The amount of environmental damage done by raising food animals is huge. I can't imagine it would be better for the planet to eat meat, than to make an exception and fly over a few beans to chow down on.
• 
  Christine

  This is our "One Book, One Community" choice for 2008. I purchased this book because of that and then put off reading it because I thought it would be a boring "this is what we did to save the environment" book. I was wrong! I really enjoyed this book. It made me think and definitely made me more aware of choices that we make in our lives, which I never considered as having an impact on our environment. Could I go so far as to live this way, even for one year? NO! Again, I thoroughly enjoyed the background facts in this book. I did not know much about the western provinces of Canada (hanging my head in shame). This book has pulled a few interesting threads in my virtual sweater or readng, unravelling it enough that I will be looking into a little more thoroughly. My only complaint about this book is that it is a combination effort by the two authors, written in the first person, and until I got used to the writing style differences, I found it difficult to discern who was writing the particular chapter I was reading.
• 
  Sarah Boon

  Not your average preachy book about eating locally and saving the planet. Smith & MacKinnon detail their quest to eat food from within 100 miles of their Vancouver home - both the failures and the successes. Not just about food, but about life, relationships, the role of food in our interactions with people, and the relationship of food to our everyday lives. A very personal account of finding local - and finding the heart of their relationship.
• 
  Tony Fecteau

  Very interesting! My wife and I try to live this way, but are not quite as fanatical about it. We love local produce and will choose it if it is available. The stories and issues that come up in this book are great. A big eye opener for me in some cases.
• 
  Megan Hex

  I never realized I could miss apples I will never be able to taste. This book is both a quiet journey through a year of a couple's life and an important, unmissable cry for action and change in how we live our lives.
• 
  Ariel

  Made me very, very hungry. Also made me very thankful for farmers' markets and local food.
• 
  Deborah

  A very refreshing read! I cannot imagine doing this with 5 to 7 children home at any given time. Even as a couple it was challenging for the authors. I appreciated the down-to-earth narrative that wasn't preachy. I also enjoyed the history and even current events that related to food and its availability -- or sadly, sometimes lack of availability. If anything, I am now just a little more aware of what is landing on our dinner plates.
• 
  Céline des Ligneris (Carole)

  Interesting experiment to eat only local foods. I am not sure that I would go totally this way, as I want to remain 100 % plant-based. However this book made me more aware of my environmental foot print as far my food is concerned. I am really glad that I was able to find a CSA farmer, to supply my familly with local and organic food, at least from June to December. For the remaining months, it remained to be seen how I will be able to maintain my 50 % locally grown ratio.
• 
  Sharolyn

  I read this when newly moved to Vancouver from Brisbane so it was cool to read something local. I found the authors to be slightly annoying in some of their tone and the way they related as a couple but perhaps that's not really fair as it's not the main point of the book. I like the idea of eating locally and this made a contribution to my thinking more on the topic.
• 
  Madison

  3.5 This was an interesting experiment, and the book itself was well-written, but all I could think through most of it was how unrealistic it would be for most people to even attempt something similar.
• 
  Larissa

  I'm giving this three stars because I felt like there were a few too many tangents to describe scenery and I really just wanted to read about the food. Otherwise I really enjoyed it and would recommend reading.
• 
  Marta Veenhof

  Valuable message shared through this book about the importance of local eating, however, personally not my style as all the personal stories made it drag on (albeit some were important to the development of the ideas but perhaps could have been shortened).
• 
  Skye

  Interesting story about one couples food experiment. Personal anecdotes keep the story interesting but I found Alisha's chapters more captivating than James'.
• 
  Cheryl

  Really enjoyed this.