I am halfway through Barbara Kingsolver’s book and I am convinced that, like her, I should eat only foods that are in season, which means in my region, no tomatoes in winter.

This way of life implies a lot of things. First it implies that I should only eat local stuff because different regions have different seasons. The Northeastern part of the United States does not have the eternal sunshine of California or the tropical weather of Ecuador therefore our farmers adjust to that reality and grow things according to what our climate and soil permit.

It also means that I should exercise a tremendous amount of restraint since while I wait for local Asparagus in early April, most people are already stuffing themselves with the green spears that are available in my nearby supermarket the whole year round.

It could also mean that to some of my friends and family that I am slowly turning Amish.

This was what actually happened last weekend when I told a friend about my plan:

So you decided to set aside all the conveniences of modern life and be Amish, he said.

No, I replied. With all due respect to the Amish folks, I am not. Besides, if I were, then I wouldn’t be blogging.

But what is this business of you having to wait for freaking August to have cucumbers? You can have it right now, he asked.

Well, our local soil cannot grow cucumbers in February. It just can’t. So the cucumbers that are in the supermarket now must had been harvested elsewhere and would had required a lot of petroleum to get into my table. Likewise, since it came from elsewhere, it is not fresh and tasty anymore, I answered.

I think you are turning Amish. Not that there’s anything wrong with being one, he snapped back.  But wait! Are you going to blog about this?

Yeah, but don’t worry about offending Amish folks online, I responded.

Our conversation however, no matter how weird, makes good sense. Perhaps as my search for real food continues, I am indeed turning into a kind of Amish foodie. You see, since I started this blog, I have been shunning fast food, heavily processed industrial edibles, conventional supermarkets, and soon, foods that are not in season. I have become a pre-industrial age eater. A throwback consumer. A retro kind of guy.

And yes, perhaps, I am really abandoning all the conveniences of the modern age when it comes to food. Well, I guess that’s my inconvenient truth. But that is truth that as of now, I will gladly embrace.

Notes: I also found out that even animal products go by the seasons! That explains why my meat and dairy co-op does not carry meat and dairy all-year round.

Here are some websites that are very useful in maintaining this lifestyle.

For fruits and veggies click here

For meats, dairy, and poultry click here

And if by any remote chance an Amish person with rebellious tendencies happens to find this blog and gets offended by my friend’s statements, I will gladly send him my friend’s contact information via pigeon courier and he can hack my pal to bits with his sickle.