The 5 More Times I Failed at Being a Locavore

I originally wrote 5 Times I Failed at Being a Locavore but have since needed to add to that list.
Here are 5 more times I slipped up and purchased outside of my BC region:

1. Sim Card
• I bought a used iPhone 5 and thought I could just cut down my sim card to fit into the new smaller model... but it turns out it is a different card all together, so I had to buy a new sim card from Telus to go with the new phone. #fail
2. Drinks



I don't think that bucket of
alcohol is local....

• Those drinks my friends bought me at the bar in return for me buying dinner was a total cheat of the system, I admit it, I failed, it was the alcohol talking. 
3. Greyhound
• If you can't find a ride you can't go...should be my new rule but on planned holidays sometimes you have to bite the bullet and pay for a bus. It is better on emissions then a flight and at least I don't drive myself however I recognise that greyhound is an international company and therefor makes this list. 
4. VIA Rail
• Trains are the most sustainable way to travel cross country. I went to a conference in Toronto and then hopping over to Ottawa for a quick family visit before the school year. Travel in itself should be off my list if I was 100% local but sometimes all the sacrifices you make during the year will hopefully help you offset the annual pilgrimage to visit your parents. (You can hear about my trip in this post- VIA: The more (in)human way to travel?)
5. Medicine



Vancouver, BC- Natures Medicine

• In general I try not to take medications whenever possible. I stopped taking Tylenol for headaches or arthritis pain (yes, I have pretty bad arthritis for my age) instead trying to live through the aches and using natural remedies. However, once this year I was so sick that I broke down and bought cold and flu medicine from the drug store. In my defence I chose a small independent pharmacy in town and bought the no name product...but I still felt like a failure for needing drugs. Full disclosure over the year i bought, one back of Fisherman's Friends, cold medicine, and a prescription inhaler... 

Cheers to making mistakes and learning from them!

Melanie 

"A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new."- Albert Einstein

What I Learned from A Year of Living Locally

Can you believe it has been an entire year since I switched to local? That is a year of supporting local businesses, eating delicious local food and discovering hidden gems close to home.

Ryerson University

In one year I...

• Lost 20 lbs 
• Paid off all my credit cards (How I Paid off my Credit Cards by Going Local)
• Learned how to make cheese
• Learned about the food system
• Discovered local business's
• Became a gardener
• Went on the local radio and news
• Learned about myself
• And spread the word of local

There were times when being a Locavore felt socially isolating but what I learned from this experience far exceeded any of the personal struggles I faced. I learned that eating local is just the tip of the iceberg of things we can do to live more sustainably. My eyes were opened to the flaws in the food system that became more obvious when I took the time to learn about my food and what I was consuming. And once you have been wisened to the ills of the world, it is difficult to ever go back.

"Live simply so others can simply live."- Mahatma Gandhi

Un-Local Night

I learned that I have changed, even if the world around me has not. I recently visited Toronto for the National Student Food Summit and was disillusioned with a city that used to feel like home, instead it felt like an urban sink hole where all the problems of society seemed to flourish. I know now that I can carve out the kind of life I want by making decisions every day that will benefit me as well as others.

My first week of un-local-ness culminated with a blow out un-local night at Earl's Prince George with friends. When the cloud in my head lifted the next morning I understood that though it felt good to be bad I still had a guilty feeling left over, a feeling I could be free from as an ethical consumer.

I am a Locavore, I am a Freegan, I am a Change Maker.

Cheers to the end of a great year, and the beginning of a lifetime of local living.

XX Melanie

"Be the change you want to see in the world." -Mahatma Gandhi