© Matthew McDermott
DCL
While I normally advocate a vegetarian/vegan diet as one of the biggest things any individual can do to make their life a little bit greener, I recognize that not everyone wants to make that sort of change -- at least not all at once. Planet Green has advocated becoming a weekday vegetarian in the past as a compromise, and I want to put a spin on that. But I need a quick personal story to do so:
I hadn't been to the absolutely amazing, extensive, and often overwhelmingly crowded Union Square Farmers Market in New York City in a while. Though it's not particularly far from my apartment, on Sundays there happens to be a much, much smaller one (think five vendors versus forty-plus) only a five minute walk from me. And in this case convenience wins out.
But last weekend I made the effort to wade into the sea of humanity -- considering the heat, humidity and rain on Saturday that's almost a literal description -- and headed out to Union Square.
After a couple hours perusing produce and photographing I started home with my purchases of green heirloom tomatoes, multicolored carrots, blueberries, asian eggplant, small red onions, and some of the most fragrant cilantro and mint I had every come across.
1 Part Dairy v. 10 Parts Fruit, Veg, Grain
A few steps outside the market it all hit me: The proportion of stalls in Union Square is very nearly a perfect representation of what proportion meat and dairy should have to fruits, vegetables and grains in your diet, should you choose to eat animal products.
I didn't make specific note of the ratio of animal to non-animal vendors, but it seemed to be about one person selling meat, fish or dairy products to every ten selling fruit, vegetables or bread.
Perhaps not the greatest revelation in the world -- I admit I was a bit heady from the heat and amazing produce choices -- but it was pretty interesting that things turned out that way. If you just bought food in the proportion it was available there, you'd be on a proportionally green dietary track.
What are Planet Green readers seeing out there at their farmers markets? Anybody have just the opposite experience and are wanting for good vegetables and fruit but awash in dairy and animal products?
