The 100% Local Diet
The 100% Local Diet
You’ve heard of being a carnivore, omnivore or an herbivore, but how about a locavore?
You see endless diet recommendations out there – vegan, vegetarian, keto, carnivore, paleo – but have you come across the 100-Mile Diet?
For those who have been with me for a while, you know that I don’t adhere to any particular diets. Rather, my approach is to think critically and get as closely connected to the source as I can.
Over time, I have found deep integrity in the local food movement. Rather than organic, non-GMO, vegan or any other label, if I could choose just one factor to base my decisions on, it would be whether the food was grown in my region or not.
Growing food, foraging and sourcing from local farmers and artisans is at the heart of eating local.
The following is a simple guide that outlines the most accessible and likely means to attain a fully localized diet. This is not an easy goal to attain, yet I have found that it is possible in regions across the US from the Olympic Peninsula of Washington, to my homeland of Wisconsin, to the Asheville, North Carolina region to Central Florida. I have met many people who eat a largely local diet, but it’s very rare to find someone that eats food solely from their region. If you become one of these rare gems, please let me know.
Meat, Dairy and Eggs
Meat, fish, organs, bone broth, eggs, milk, cheese, yogurt, butter and ghee
A fully local diet is almost always going to involve animals (I write in depth about my thoughts on veganism here). For those who are adhering to a vegan diet, a fully localized diet is likely to be a stretch from the realm of possibility. A fully local vegetarian diet is much more manageable, yet that is still quite challenging.
In my travels all over the US, it is not local produce that I find the most widely abundant, it is meat and eggs. The meat from domesticated animals that is most accessible and high-quality in my experience is cow, pig and chicken, followed by sheep and turkey. Most of the local farm raised fish that I’ve come across is questionable, but it sure is out there.
Eggs are quite possibly the most common local food that I see in the country, right along with local cheeses.
Deer meat (venison) and wild pig are the two most accessible wild mammals to harvest enough meat from to sustain a fully local diet. When sourcing local fish, the key is to learn which fish are low on the food chain and can be sustainably fished. Although global fish stock is depleted,. there are plenty of fisheries where fish can be sustainably harvested. Mullet in Florida and white fish in Lake Superior are two examples. Salmon, mackerel, anchovies/sardines/menhaden can be locally abundant. So can carp, suckers, rock bass and many other fish that are often disregarded as not good enough.
Once opting out of the globalized, industrial food system, it becomes apparent how much it makes sense to effectively utilize the resources available to us. Animal organs and animal fat are key ingredients to a local diet. Organ meat is more nutrient dense than the muscles, so a pound of organ meat can be worth numerous pounds of muscle meat. Organs can be eaten from every animal above. Bone broth is a much loved way to nourish the body by many local food advocates.
There are many animals and fish that exist in populations beyond ecosystem capacity and which are not beneficial to the environments within which they have been transported. Harvesting “invasive” animals is a way to not only eat sustainably, but do an ecosystem service. A few examples include iguanas in Florida, wild pigs in the Southern United States, and lionfish. In many regions, deer, rabbits and squirrels are in overabundance and can be harvested beyond sustainably.
Fat and Oils
Animal fat is another key ingredient for a fully localized diet.
Extracting and processing oil from plants is generally quite challenging to do on a small scale, so it is very hard to find local plant oils in many regions. Cow fat or pig fat, on the other hand, are widely accessible in most climates across the country. It is a very easy and efficient process to render at home, which will often be needed, because it’s much harder to find rendered fat.
Local olive oil is accessible to millions of people in California, a great perk for locavores in the Mediterranean regions. Hickory nut oil is a totally untapped resource and, according to Samuel Thayer, there’s enough hickory nuts on the trees each year to put a bottle of oil on every table in the country. This is an untapped resource. Oil can be made at home via a simple process, however, it is incredibly time intensive compared to animal fats and a limiting factor to achieving a fully local diet.
Effective and large scale processing of oil from plants generally requires relatively expensive technology (a hickory nut oil press that could provide a meaningful quantity of oil to a local community costs around $15,000, I believe). Acorn oil and black walnut oil are some of the most common local nut oils. They are generally substantially more expensive per ounce, and not financially accessible to most people as a main oil source.
Coconut oil is an option in Florida and I have experimented with it. I have yet to meet anyone who produces enough plant oil to meet their oil needs, but I have found it to be commonplace to meet people who do this through animal fats.
With local dairy being quite common (a2a2 being my preference), so can local butter be. I rarely see local butter, but it is very easy to make with milk sources from a local farm, and the next step from butter can be to make ghee.
Another option is bear fat, which is not something that I discuss lightly. However, there are many areas where people hunt bear and discard all the fat, which is some of the highest quality fat on this continent. This can be sourced by talking to the local hunters or meat processors.
Fruits and Vegetables
Fruits and vegetables make a substantial portion of the local diet.
From region to region and season to season, different veggies and fruits are available. The essence of a local diet is to eat with the seasons and to preserve the bounty for the future.
One tip I have is to open your mind to the many fruits and vegetables you have never heard of. Especially when it comes to foraging, there are incredible local bounties to be had, that many of us know nothing of. For me, that includes chokecherry, aronia, autumn olive, high bush cranberry and nanny berry, to name a few. Of course, there are the well-known mulberries, cherries and brambleberries.
I’ll share a few notes here on fruits and vegetables.
Apples are the heart of my local diet, with applesauce making up a substantial portion of my diet. Apples may be the most accessible local fruit in the country, followed by plums and pears.
Greens are widely abundant and are some of the most nutrient-dense foods on Earth, particularly the dark leafy greens. Stinging nettle is one of my top food medicines. Between growing and foraging, this is one of the easiest ways to eat a substantially local diet. I’ve eaten as much as a pound of cooked greens a day, serving as my sole vegetable.
Sweet potatoes, winter squashes and potatoes are widely available, and can make up one of the largest proportions of a local diet. Summer squashes, carrots and parsnips are much less calorie dense, but provide substantial sustenance. In Florida, cassava and wild yam can be a staple. There are other vegetables that can serve as staples.
Garlic and onion are also accessible in most regions and often serve as staples in a local diet.
A few mentions to explore further include making green powder to make your own homemade multivitamin, fruit leather for easy “on the go” snacks, canned jams and sauces that require no sugar, and seaweed for all who live on the coasts.
Grains
In most regions, there is no local grain available. Root veggies and tubers (as shared above) are much more easily accessible for anyone pursuing a fully local diet.
The most common local grains are wheat and corn. Flour can be made from both wheat and corn and numerous regions I have visited (including Asheville, North Carolina and Port Townsend, Washington had local wheat flour). Local grits and oats are available in numerous regions. There are regions of locally produced rice, others with quinoa and others with buckwheat. There is more to explore here, I am sure.
Wild rice is an option for a small portion of the country, including the Lake Superior region of Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan, where I am from.
Sourdough bread can be made with local wheat, water and wild yeast — no other ingredients needed. I’ve never found a local, non-industrial yeast and I don’t need to because the yeast I need is in every breath of air and on the surface of every piece of food.
I have sourced local popping corn at farmers’ markets in numerous regions. It is often sold right on the cob. Simply pull the dried kernels off the cob and pop them on the stove!
Legumes
Although quite easy to grow and widely available as fresh green beans, it’s rare to find dried beans and legumes available locally in staple quantities. I have come across them in Maryland and chickpeas in North Carolina. I’m confident that somewhere there is heirloom soy growing which could be fermented into nato, miso, tempeh.
I don’t recall ever finding local lentils.
Nuts and Seeds
Nuts and seeds are generally substantially more time intensive as a source of protein than meat, eggs, dairy and the like.
In some regions, there are industries that supply local nuts, including pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts, chestnuts and almonds. Other nuts and seeds that are available most frequently are acorn, hickory, and black walnuts.
Some nuts can be foraged in large quantities. If time is limited (which it is for most of us) it is essential to learn the most efficient and productive method of processing the nuts, if making them a staple in the local diet is desired.
I have never seen local flax, sesame or hemp available on the market (to my recollection). Sunflower and pumpkin seeds would be the most likely seeds to find locally in quantity, however, this is likely to be an industrial process and that’s probably why I don’t think I’ve ever seen unshelled ones as part of a local food economy.
Herbs and Spices
Garlic, onion and peppers are the staple flavors of a local diet.
Rosemary, thyme, oregano, basil are just a few of the many staple herbs.
Of anything I recommend to grow at home that provides the most value for the least work, it is staple cooking herbs (along with greens).
There are many herbs we are accustomed to that simply do not grow in most regions of the US, including black pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom. To embrace a fully localized diet, is to embrace some new flavors, and potentially less diversity of herbs and spices than many of us are accustomed to.
Dried herb mixes can easily be made for year-round usage and efficiency in the kitchen.
Mushrooms
Mushrooms can be very abundant both in small scale farming, growing at home and foraging. To me they are a staple of a local diet, and I can easily eat 50 pounds per year. Many mushrooms can be easily dried for long-term storage. Medicinal mushroom teas can be a staple, homemade or purchased.
Salt
Local salt is accessible to millions of US Americans, for those that do not live near the ocean, this is the limiting factor to a 100% local diet. A years’ supply of salt could be harvested on a yearly trip to the ocean, or this is one food that could be traded for.
My process for making sea salt is quite simple. I select the cleanest beach in the region and go there with a five-gallon container, ideally on a calm day. I wade out to where the water is minimally stirred up by shoreline waves. I then fill the container by holding the opening below the surface, so that minimal surface water enters. Pollutants such as oil sit on the surface of the ocean. At home, I put the water into glass baking trays in the sun and simply let the water evaporate, leaving me with hand-harvested sea salt. Or I put the water into a stainless steel pot (with no lid) and boil it down until there is just salt left. When the water is low, I turn the heat way down. Sun evaporation is preferred because it uses no energy, or the use of a fire that is accomplishing another task as well. Ocean water is about 3.5% salt. A five-gallon bucket of water makes about two cups of salt or a pint jar. It’s as simple as that to make your own sea salt!
Sugar
Honey is the most widely available local sugar source.
Maple syrup and maple sugar can be sourced locally in many of the northern US states.
Sugar can can be grown in just the warmest climates of the US (I am aware of Florida and the Caribbean only). There are other sources of sugar out there, but I am not aware of being able to make them effectively on a local, small scale.
Vinegar
Although local vinegar is not commonly abundant, I have seen it in numerous regions.
The two most common vinegars will be apple cider vinegar and grape vinegar.
However, vinegar is incredibly simple to make with any sugary fruit and the addition of a local sugar. Some vinegars can be made with no sugar at all, including ACV and grape vinegar.
Ferments
Ferments add incredible value to food and create a deep level of joy in food.
Local ferments are available in many regions and wild fermentation is a basic practice, accessible in any kitchen.
I have found sauerkraut and kimchi to be the most effective way to eat a lot of ferments, but the possibilities are bountiful, as you’ll see in Sandor Katz Wild Fermentation book. Lactofermented veggies galore!
Making your own saves a lot of money as these are considered value-added products.
Common fermented beverages include kombucha, jun, and mead. Mead can be down as a purely wild ferment, requiring no yeast. Jun and kombucha require a SCOBY (a living yeast culture), but this can be created locally, while a caffeine source and the matching sugar take a real dedicated person to pull off.
Herbal Tea, Coffee, Caffeine and Chocolate
For coffee drinkers in the US, you can’t have both your coffee and a fully localized diet. Coffee and caffeine, are not needed for a complete, nourishing diet, so it is not a limiting factor for anyone who is fully dedicated to this mission.
Yaupon holly is a close relative to the well-known Yerba Mate and grows in the Southeast United States. This is the most local source of caffeine on Turtle Island. Tea (camellia sinensis) also grows in multiple climates across the country.
Herbal teas will not be limited in any biome in the country. There are hundreds of herbal teas that can be grown and foraged, with an array of medicinal qualities.
Roasted dandelion and chicory root make a renowned root beverage that gives a very coffee-like experience.
Just as coffee is not available, neither is chocolate. A fully localized diet requires reprogramming the neural pathways of our mind.
Plant Medicines
Many plant medicines and mushrooms grow locally, both wild and in domesticated settings.
Read: My Relationship with Plant Medicines, “Drugs” and Drugs
Read Food Freedom: A Year of Growing and Foraging 100% of My Food
This guide to eating a 100% Local Diet was made as an additional resource to my book, Food Freedom. The book serves as a helpful resource in breaking free from the global, industrial food system and returning to local food systems.
It is available for free as an ebook.
The Non-Industrial Diet
In 2022 I immersed myself in a challenge of eating 100% local for 50 days in Asheville, North Carolina. During this time, I brainstormed what I call “The Non-Industrial Diet.” These are the key features.
The food:
has never been on a conveyor belt.
has never been on a semi-truck.
has no artificial ingredients, food coloring, preservatives, caking agents, etc.
is unprocessed or minimally processed, and never(?) refined.
is not affected by food lobbyists.
has been grown with no industrial pesticides or herbicides.
has no industrial fertilizers, etc.
was not factory farmed.
I know the direct source of the food. Ideally, I know the people who grew it or foraged it.
I know exactly how it was processed. Ideally, I have direct experience with this process.
The packaging:
has no marketing or claims.
has no PLU or barcode.