Living Food: It's about balance

Americans will give thanks this holiday for blessings that range from the universal to the extremely individual, and everything in between. In virtually every household, the food will be a way to express shared ties.

It's always been that way. The holiday isn't about the food, but everything has a way of revolving around the food.

So, we like the campaign to encourage people to include at least one local food item on their Thanksgiving menus. For one thing, it helps center our thoughts on some of the aspects for which everyone, on some perhaps unstated level, feels grateful: the health not just of our families but also of our communities and the planet.

But there's a healthy buffet table of other motivations behind the Eat Local for Thanksgiving campaign. King County Executive Ron Sims (whose holiday menu included Washington vegetables and homemade ice cream with local eggs and milk) said, "A plate of food now travels an average of 1,500 miles from farm to fork. Eating locally can help reduce fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions while supporting our economy. And keeping agricultural land productive helps preserve our rural communities."

In fact, in a state with such a strong agricultural base, we can hope for thriving rather than just-hanging-on communities. Our farms can produce competitive, healthy products for parts of the global economy. Just as an occasional purchase of fresh fruit from Chile can be a good choice in a Northwest winter, an apple from Washington can be as big a winner in Kyoto as in Kirkland. Buying locally or internationally is usually a question of balance.

The movements toward slow, organic, local and sustainable foods all share a common trait (as well as frequently common adherents). They are very much about restoring balance -- balance that benefits people, their health, their relationships and their environment.

A lot of the talk about local foods for the Thanksgiving campaign was around global warming and food's "carbon footprint." But we hope there's no heartburn for global-warming doubters over such ingredients as Washington-grown apples in the pie, smoked wild salmon in an appetizer or a whole helping of cranberries from the Pacific Coast. Those are just a few of the items worth sharing for their healthy qualities and their rich, varied symbolism this Thanksgiving.