Take Part - If you’re passionate about eating local, apparently you can’t do better than living in Vermont.
That is, at least, according to the latest Locavore Index from Strolling of the Heifers, a nonprofit that advocates for access to local healthy food that, coincidentally (right?), is based in Vermont.
For the fourth straight year, the little sliver of a state in New England tops the list of states where eating local is easiest. Furthermore, all four top states kept their ranking from last year, even as a couple new ones joined the top 10. Here they are, with last year’s ranking in parentheses:
1. Vermont (1)
2. Maine (2)
3. New Hampshire (3)
4. Oregon (4)
5. Massachusetts (11)
6. Wisconsin (8)
7. Montana (9)
8. Hawaii (5)
9. Rhode Island (6)
10. Connecticut (20)
Likewise, there was only a bit of shuffling at the bottom of the list, where the 10 worst states to eat local mostly just swapped a couple spots.
42. Arkansas (47)
43. Alabama (42)
44. Georgia (40)
45. Oklahoma (46)
46. Mississippi (45)
47. Louisiana (48)
48. Florida (41)
49. Nevada (50)
50. Arizona (49)
51. Texas (51)
That is, at least, according to the latest Locavore Index from Strolling of the Heifers, a nonprofit that advocates for access to local healthy food that, coincidentally (right?), is based in Vermont.
For the fourth straight year, the little sliver of a state in New England tops the list of states where eating local is easiest. Furthermore, all four top states kept their ranking from last year, even as a couple new ones joined the top 10. Here they are, with last year’s ranking in parentheses:
1. Vermont (1)
2. Maine (2)
3. New Hampshire (3)
4. Oregon (4)
5. Massachusetts (11)
6. Wisconsin (8)
7. Montana (9)
8. Hawaii (5)
9. Rhode Island (6)
10. Connecticut (20)
Likewise, there was only a bit of shuffling at the bottom of the list, where the 10 worst states to eat local mostly just swapped a couple spots.
42. Arkansas (47)
43. Alabama (42)
44. Georgia (40)
45. Oklahoma (46)
46. Mississippi (45)
47. Louisiana (48)
48. Florida (41)
49. Nevada (50)
50. Arizona (49)
51. Texas (51)
3 comments:
I find it interesting that this list is topped by 3 states that all have short growing seasons. I'm sure they do great growing fresh veggies in frozen ground...Not.
In Oregon, local eating is supported by the fact that much of the western part of the state has a 270+ day growing season. I'm still harvesting beets and greens planted last fall, while my new planted spring salad greens are already for harvest. Farmers markets run all year long with fresh produce. A long growing season makes local eating possible most of the year.
If short growing season places like Vermont, Maine, or New Hampshire are better for local eating, then I want to know what their definition of "local" is.
12:41 PM
As a former resident of one of those top three states, allow me to introduced you to some apparently new concepts for you. There are these things called 'green houses'. And of more recent vogue, horticultural practice employing 'hoop houses' and 'high tunnels'. All of the afore mentioned structures are capable of significantly extending growing seasons to the point of nearly being year around.
As a New Englander, its that we savor our local with more attitude becasue it is so difficult. Y'alll laid back folks on the left coast need to do better pr if you want your ranking to go up. RI had a 50% increase in farmers between 1998 and 2008. the best record in the country. We went from 500 to 750 or something like that. Most new farms in RI are less than a quarter of an acre because no one can afford the highest agricultural land prices in the country. In much of the state the only land for gardens is brownfields. But Providence now allows people to keep chickens. Maybe y'all should crow a bit more.
Post a Comment