The direct answer is the ability to endure over time (“durabilité” in French). How do we endure with finite resources on this planet? How do we preserve or regenerate our most limited or precious resources (e.g., water in California)? How can we plan and act for the 7th generation? How can we learn from Native People who have lived in ecological harmony for thousands of years?
The less abstract element is discovered in dissecting practical and approachable changes in consumption and lifestyle. Let us learn to dissect the ingredients that go into our foods and materials that build our worlds!
WATER
Using less water is important for California, where most of our water goes toward agriculture. However, how often do we eat drought-tolerant crops (like jujubes or native cactus, mesquite, acorns, etc.)? Is your farmer going the extra mile to mulch, recharge groundwater with swales, or harvest rainwater? Fun fact: wet soil sequesters 6X more carbon than dry soil!
SOIL
Soil erosion is the cause of desertification over time, where our topsoil is gradually reduced and nutrients (or chemicals) are washed into our watershed. Growing perennial crops vegetables and tree crops (fruit and nuts) reduce our need for tillage and hold onto soil by the roots during storms. Additionally, climate-analogous perennials often need less inputs (i.e., less water and fertilizer).
ENERGY
How much energy does your farmer use to harvest, transport, and process the food? For large loads, the energy is less per item – is that worth the trade-off for resources (e.g., better apples from Washington where they have more water)?
PACKAGING
Can you avoid packaging? Use reusable bags, refillable containers for grains, or shop at Farmer’s Markets!
AGROECOLOGY AND TRADITIONAL ECOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE
Agroecological systems help us to bridge these gaps and include ecological practices in agriculture (mimicking native plant communities), or similarly agricultural practices in ecology (utilizing native plants).
The Chumash people have stewarded the land that we live on with traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), here on the Central Coast, for millennia. By wild-gathering ingredients and monitoring their resources, they ensured that those plants, animals, and building materials remained in balance for continual use for themselves and others (humans or other animals and plants). The materials they used for kitchenware, basketry, weapons, and building were all biodegradable and often reused. Although life may not have always been as comfortable and convenient as our modern lives, every single person was carbon-neutral or carbon-negative (for the plant caretakers) without the use of cars, AC, imported goods, etc.
SUSTAINABLE ALTERNATIVES
How to eat in a sustainable world? In an ideal world, we still are hunter-gatherers without the complexities of agriculture or the need for additional inputs. But let us ponder outside of the wild-gathered world of food…
| Food Type | Common Ingredient | Eco-Alternatives |
| Protein | Factory-farmed beef, chicken, etc. | Less or no meat and alternatives: – Holistically- (wild, regenerative, or used for fuel control) raised meat – Mushrooms – Eggs – Nuts, nut butter (e.g., almond butter) – Beans (or perennial runner beans!) – Seeds – Quinoa – Tofu – Whey protein – Soy-nut-legume-based fake meat |
| Fiber | Annual vegetables | Perennial vegetables: – Asparagus – Artichoke – Rhubarb – Watercress – (Cooked) nettle – Good king henry – Tree collard / kale – (Cooked) dandelions (bitter) – Walking onion – Nasturtium (tangy) – French sorrel (bitter-tangy) – Chaya – Salsify – Miner’s lettuce – Saltbush – Sweet potato – Linden tree leaves – Mulberry tree leaves – Seaweed!!!!!! |
| Sugar | Processed white sugar (sugarcane) or chocolate | – Fruit or berries – Carob chips or powder (for chocolate replacements) – Date / monk fruit sugar – Mesquite powder – Local honey – Stevia (an actual plant!) – Using natural sugar from local fruits – Sugar substitutes (e.g., Splenda) |
| Carbohydrates | White bread and wheat flour | – Flour from perennial grains (like Kernza)! – Perennial or wild rice – Acorn flour – Mesquite flour – Chestnut flour (from the “bread” tree) – Nut flours (almond, walnut, etc.) – Seed flours |
| Fat | Butter or canola oil | – Olive oil – Acorn / hazelnut / other nut oils – Nuts – Regenerative meat fat – Holistically-raised animal butter |
Choose wisely, my friend.
To the 7th generation!
Brandon
The Ecologist Cowboy 