As much as I love talking publicly about food, I hate talking publicly about diets. And not just restrictive weight-loss diets, but any pattern or habit of eating. If you are happy with your diet, you sound self-satisfied and condescending. If you are unhappy with it, you sound powerless and weak-willed. Either way, the discussion betrays your closest-held beliefs about the value, importance and role of food. And it can be just as divisive as discussing religion, politics or child-rearing. Everyone has an idea of the right way to do things... and it probably isn't the same as yours. Are they judging you for your dietary beliefs? Do they feel judged?

As someone who has struggled with my weight, and gone through many diet revisions over the course of my life, I feel like I've experienced all sides of this interaction, from people looking at my body and my plate and making negative judgments, to people thinking that the time, effort and money I put into my diet is absurd and pretentious. My enthusiasm for food and my passion about its political aspects means that I have almost certainly made others feel awkward or annoyed in the face of my convictions.

And I also know, particularly in today's economic climate, proudly touting that you eat only unprocessed local foods— well, it's nothing short of bragging. Although I think that switching from a Whole Foods/Yuppie Chow diet to a mostly unprocessed local diet based on CSAs and farmers' markets, as we have over the past couple years, has actually saved us money, it can't be denied that it is still a privileged diet. But the more I learn about the state of food and agriculture, the more compelled I feel to vote with my wallet. And then there is the cost in my time— while most nights, we have a simple 20-minute dinner, it takes a lot of time to prepare a few of the foods we enjoy, and I just happen to be borderline obsessive enough to put in that time. So I am in a unique position when it comes to choosing and defining my diet.

When I sat down to write about the Eat Local Challenge, it was going to be a straightforward description of the changes I've made for the month of October, and how I've implemented them in the past week. But I found myself paralyzed. I've come to a strong belief in the value of eating unprocessed foods, naturally raised meats, and lots of produce, as well as the political need to patronize smaller farms. I am proud of the changes I've been making in my diet, and I want people to be more aware of the political issues that I've come to care so much about. I want people to be more informed about food safety and regulation, and about the problems with industrialized food systems, processed foods and corn subsidies. But I find it hard to write about these things for fear of sounding judgmental and preachy.

I'm not a locovore or any sort of -arian or -gan. I eat what I think is delicious and healthy and think you should too. This blog isn't meant to be about politics (there are other great blogs for that), but about the joy of food. I can't help a little politics seeping in here and there, but what I really want to share is that joy.

The joy of eating local is knowing your farms and farmers, and that means knowing your food. Farmers, rather than agribusinesses, know how to make a marbled steak, a rich bright egg yolk, and sweet flavorful milk. Farmers, not agribusinesses, care not just about the technical safety of their product, but about its quality. The range of flavors in local food is broader. I can taste the seasons in the meat and the milk and see them in the comings and goings of produce. Conventional meat, dairy and eggs taste flat in comparison. Having a relationship with my meat farmer, my fish broker, my dairy, and my produce farms has given me access to great advice, excellent recipes, special cuts of meat, cultures for fermented foods like kefir, bulk produce for canning, and introductions to new kinds of seafood.

On the other hand, local farms can't provide me with the grapefruits that I'll certainly become addicted to later in the year or the avocados I miss from my childhood. Local sources can't give me imported spices, refined baking products, most pre-made food, or any number of other delicacies that I plan to enjoy in abundance starting on November 1st. Because I love food, I'll spend November reveling in my flour and sugar and imported products. And because I love food, local meat, produce and dairy will remain the backbone of my diet.