Going local, or “localvore,” is the trend today. Once an exotic concept, locally made products have become a mainstream fixture in thousands of menus from fine dining to local sandwich shops in both developed and developing countries.
Consumers are now savvy and realize the importance of knowing where their food is from. It connects you with the people who raise and grow it. Instead of having a relationship with a big supermarket chain, consumers now prefer to know the vendors at the farmers’ market, confident in the knowledge they will get better produce as generally people who know you will tend to help you.
Imported products are engineered to withstand travel over long distances. Local foods, however, travel a fraction of that distance and still maintain their appearance, taste and nutrients, without any bioengineering. How many times have we gushed over a simple meal of fresh tomatoes drizzled with olive oil? They burst in flavor while artificially ripened tomatoes in gas are easy to forget.
Noma, a renowned two-Michelin-star restaurant in Copenhagen, is famous for strictly serving local produce that reflect the Danish landscape and culture. US first lady Michelle Obama has captured the world’s imagination by expanding the White House garden to grow fruits, herbs and vegetables for the family, staff and visitors. Local school children help out with the gardening and learn along the way the importance of nutrition and botany.
Sadly, the trend has not completely caught on in Asia. Chances are, your fancy dinner of delectable beef, foie gras, truffle and wine had traveled a distance equal to the circumference of the Earth before reaching the crisp, white linen-covered table of a fine-dining restaurant in Jakarta.
Restaurants still boast air-flown products and ironically promote items that are seasonal in Europe or the United States. It seems odd that we are paying a premium for imported asparagus that have been sitting in planes, trucks and warehouses when we can easily enjoy seasonal vegetables that are available here.
Chefs seem to derive pleasure from creating menus consisting of ingredients from far-flung areas rather than to rotate their menus based on the availability of locally sourced ingredients. What better way to come up with daily specials than looking at the ingredients available in that particular season? The same goes for bottled water and coffee. The mind boggles when waiters push diners to choose imported bottled water and coffee when the local versions are just as good or even better.
In fact, there is almost an element of pride when supermarkets labeled their ubiquitous papayas, bananas and mangos as imported when the local substitutes are better since they have spent less traveling time and are fresher by far. In fact, many have said that local vegetable companies prefer to give their brands foreign names as they lend an imported feel to their products and thus would be more attractive to the customers.
Going forward, it is hoped that more resources and technological know-how will be given to local farmers so that they and the people of this land of myriad treasures will be proud of their produce.
Anita Othman is a freelance writer slaving away on her novel. She can be contacted at anitaothman@googlemail.com.
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