Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/390790
S urveying the whole joyful scene—children nibbling warm donuts, musicians busking, shoppers chat- ting with farmers as they fi ll their market bags with vibrant leafy greens, ruby radishes and speckled eggs—Jenelle previews potential purchases. e rhubarb looks good today, but how will she use it? She's bored with zucchini at this time of year, but the heirloom tomatoes are robust and beautiful. And what is that odd-shaped vegeta- ble with the spikes? So many options! A steadfast vegetarian since age six, now studying to be a dietician, Jenelle developed an allergy to dairy 12 years ago, and took that out of her diet as well. She's a conscientious consumer who buys most of her groceries at the farmers mar- ket, but for all the abundance, there is a signifi cant gap in the local off erings: plant-based pro- tein. ere is some protein in vegetables—notably spinach, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, corn, potatoes and peas—but like many vegans, our shopper relies on beans, quinoa and soy products for a balanced diet. Since these are in scarce supply in her market, it raises an interesting question: How sustainable can a vegan diet be if a substantial portion of it must be shipped from elsewhere? Tofu, for example, is made by only a handful of compa- nies. In Southern California we are fortunate to have House Foods, Wildwood and Morinaga pro- ducing non-GMO soy products, but where the beans are sourced is another question, and some are even imported to meet demand (an estimated 90 percent of the domestic soybean crop is GMO). Add to that the processes of soaking, grind- ing, pasteurizing, packaging and shipping to rack up the sort of carbon footprint estimated, in a Dutch study, to be close to that caused by chicken. And then there's the quinoa conundrum. While the basic components of tofu can be produced here in the States, 92 percent of all the quinoa in the world is grown in South America. An ancient seed that is cooked like a grain and is gaining popularity even in omnivorous cookbooks as a KATHRYN DEBROS JENELLE HAS A CAREFULLY PLANNED STRATEGY F O R M A X I M I Z I N G H E R W E E K LY V I S I T S TO T H E FA R M E R S M A R K E T. E V E R Y S AT U R DAY S H E WA L K S T H E T W O M I L E S F R O M H E R H O M E , C O F F E E I N H A N D, TO T H E B U S T L I N G S T R E E T T H AT ' S B E E N C L O S E D TO T R A F F I C F O R T H E E V E N T. THE TROUBLE consumer who buys most of her groceries at the farmers mar- ket, but for all the abundance, there is a signifi cant gap in the local off erings: plant-based pro- Tofu, for example, is made by only a handful of compa- nies. In Southern California we are fortunate to have House Foods, Wildwood 24 wholelifetimesmagazine.com