As I am sure you have heard before, every time you make a purchase you are voting for the kind of world you want to live in.  This is so true and important when it comes to food.  Having access to fresh, local, seasonal, sustainably harvested vegetables, meats, and artisan products is one of the true joys of living in the Pacific Northwest.  But the only way we can maintain this local food economy is to continually nurture and support it.

The Oregon Environmental Council has just launched the Vote with Your Fork! campaign to educate folks about how to support and sustain the local food system.  You can take their pledge to make at least one change in your eating habits - if everyone in Oregon did this, we would see some major positive impacts on local economies and ecosystems. 

Here are just a few of their ideas about how you can vote with your fork:

Host a local foods potluck.  With the farmer's markets bursting at the seams with the most dazzling array of seasonal produce, it is a great time to invite your friends and neighbors to share the bounty of summer.

Compost your food scraps.  Even if you don't have a yard to establish a composting system, there are great under the sink or counter top composting options, such as Bokashi.     

Support a local farmer.  Buying directly from farmers, either at the farmer's markets or at a farm stand means that your entire food dollar goes to the hard working farmer and stays in the local economy.

To do my part, I am about to go cook dinner with fish we picked up at the farmer's market yesterday, greens from our friends at Sweet Leaf Farm in Eugene, and shallots and tomatoes from the good folks at Deep Roots Farm in Corvallis.  And I think I will mix up some vodka tonics with vodka from New Deal Distillery, which happens to be right up the road from where we live.  Eating local is sweet!