I’m feeling inspired by “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” and am considering an attempt at my own local eating experiment. I wouldn’t start it yet of course, the allotment hasn’t really had a chance to start supporting a healthy appetite, but it’s never too late to start researching my options. On Sunday I thought I would head off to the lotty by way of the local farmers market to source some locally laid eggs, only it seems the local farmers market has been transplanted - so thats the end of the easy option.

I looked in on the neighborhood butcher who seemed to have a good supply of eggs. I read all his labels for evidence of origin but they didn’t go beyond “from a farm” and “free range”, which didn’t pinpoint them to any place close. I suppose I could have gone in and grilled him on his sources but this is supposed to be a local food project and not a learn-how-to-speak-to-complete-strangers sort of project. I’m beginning to think that communication may be the only way forward though, even the internet is being uncharacteristically unhelpful.

Today I opted to explore the newly opened organic/herbal type health food shop for local food options. Not much luck in there either. They sold supplements of one form an another, which I would hope to be surplus to requirements in any healthy eating plan, some New Zealand honey, which doesn’t sound so local and then a load of soya produce, which I’m now led to believe is an evil industry responsible for wholesale habitat destruction. Not that I know what I’m talking about, it’s all way too political for my tiny mind but I’m sure soya isn’t a local produce anyway.

I was looking out for ingredients for soda bread as inspired by Beansprouts, so needed milk, yoghurt and wholemeal flour. I picked up the flour from the herbal shop but they didn’t do milk or yoghurt of the dairy variety. I could easily have given in to the lure of Waitrose but that is surely to easy. Instead I opted for ye olde corner shoppe, no idea where he gets his products from but he did have all the items I required. My butter choices were either Holland or New Zealand again, the New Zealand butter claimed it came from happy cows but having travelled half way to NZ I know it aint even nearly local, Holland on the other hand isn’t too far away.

On my way home (via the pub) I had a little think about my butter purchase. I have it good authority that you even get cows in London, admittedly East London, but London nontheless, so shouldn’t that mean I can get hold of East London butter? More searching required.

Finally, its time to turn my attention towards beer. I’m fortunate enough to live opposite a brewery. Unfortunately it ships out Budweiser, but, hypothetically speaking, if I were to drink Bud from the pub opposite the brewery, could I feel confident that it hadn’t actually been shipped from Mortlake to the US of A and then back to Mortlake again?

Local eating and drinking is going to be tough and I need to build up a bit of knowledge before I tackle this - I wouldn’t want to starve.