Want to learn more about Eat Drink Be Local?
Here is a transcript from their website!

“Local Philosophy”

My first experiences riding a bike were much smoother than my sister’s. I seemed to have no trouble in the transition from four to two wheels. Ali, my sister, was not so fortunate. Almost immediately after getting on the seat she would crash into the sidewalk. People would comment on how mean our cat must be to scratch up a sweet little child like her. They had no idea it was actually our front shrubs attacking my sister. Even though her face and the pavement often became one, she always peeled herself off and got back on.

Recently, my sister and I took up cycling again. However, the roles have reversed as now I am the one crashing rather than breaking. Rarely do I make it past my front gate and I certainly know better than to get out into the world just yet with my minor biking skills. But, like my sister when she was younger, I continue trying. As painful as it can be in the beginning, choosing to ride a bicycle provides much gain in the long run.

At A Bread Affair, we are blessed with a staff that cares about the environment and well-being of others. The majority of our bake staff rides a bicycle to work, and a considerable number of our other employees do as well. Our market staff gets to enjoy the bicycle culture as well; cycling is growing increasingly popular with the regulars of the farmer’s markets. A huge plus: many of the farmer’s markets include bike racks and even free engraving so if your bike gets stolen, are able to get it back. The West End Farmer’s Market often has a small group of police officers volunteering their time to provide security for any one with a bike. They engrave an I.D. number into the side which is an incredibly quick process. All Vancouver Farmer’s Markets promote bike-riding They have lots of information and can be reached here: http://www.eatlocal.org/ .

Cycling has also been credited with numerous health benefits. It is a great exercise because the body weight is supported and it does not create the pounding on joints that jogging and running tend to do. And nobody can deny the feeling of recaptured youth that comes along with hopping on a bike!

Here is a top 5 list of the benefits of biking:

1. Reduces the risk of many health issues and risks (including stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, osteoporosis, and obesity – to name a few)
2. Relaxes the body and mind; increases mental well-being
3. A chance to go on scenic adventures! BC is a great place for a cyclist. Explore the world around you!
4. Inexpensive – as long as you have a good bike lock!
5. Cycling creates virtually no pollution. If you reduce, reuse, recycle, and re-gift you unused bike and/or bike parts, you will have a pollution-free mode of transportation.

(This list was gathered from information provided by the website: http://www.rocklin.ca/biketrip/benefits.htm )

And it’s not just cycling shorts and reflective wear! Due to the status as an “It” accessory among the trendy crowd, bike-sensible clothing has become more than Neil Armstrong-esque spandex. Bike-and-style blogs are all over the internet, inspiring the average cyclist to try new things with their wardrobe that are still functional for riding a bike. Containing a smorgasbord of style inspiration, Vancouver Style Chic is highly recommended, transforming any bland biking wardrobe into a runway one wheels.

Check it out! http://vancouvercyclechic.blogspot.com/2010_08_01_archive.html

With Canada being the third largest producer of natural gas, using this form of energy also supports the Canadian economy. 98% of the natural gas consumed in North America is produced here! Even better, using natural, Canadian gas reduces the dependence of foreign oil. This also means that the oil does not need to be transported great distances. Natural gas is also convenient. Pipelines run underground and are widely available. More and more gas stations are offering natural gas as one of their available fuels for public sale, making the transition from gasoline to natural gas even easier. Another convenience is the price; while gas prices continue going up and are expected to reach $1.50 this summer, natural gas prices are declining.

Natural gas is safe. We have the safest mode of energy transportation in the current world and the companies are committed to safety. They have emergency response plans and keep communication open between the local communities and producers of the oil.

Natural gas is composed primarily of methane, and the products of combustion are carbon dioxide and water vapour- the same product of respiration within our bodies! The combustion of natural gas does not give off ash, unlike oil. Build-up of smoke contributes to “smoggy summer days” and numerous health issues.

While natural gas has many benefits, it is important to also mention the cons. Since natural gas is a fossil fuel, it is non-renewable and a finite source of energy. It has been estimated that natural gas can support our energy demands for up to 100 years, although better sources of energy should be widely available by then. Another con of natural gas is that long pipelines will need to be built, which can disrupt eco-systems. Regarding natural gas as a fuel for transportation compared to the standard gasoline, less mileage is provided.

Luckily, there is a great amount of information available on natural gas, so it is quite easy to form your own opinions on it. At the moment, it is the cleanest, most cost-effective and reliable source of energy. We use it because it produces just a fraction of the greenhouse gases and pollutants that other fossil fuels do.

Please look at the following links for more information. They provide information of both the pros and cons of using natural gas.

www.cngva.org/en/home/environment–safety.aspx  and www.naturalgas.org/environment/naturalgas.aspx

Let’s take it to the cheese counter, Humboldt Fog?

This video may reminds many of how hard it is to park in a Whole Foods Parking lot! Sit back and enjoy this music video that captures an ordinary experience at your local Whole Foods.

Many of us forget that we do not have to travel far to taste the luscious taste of hand crafted wine. A trip to wine country is closer than many may think, close enough without leaving your neighborhood. With the abundance of cranberries, blueberries & raspberries in the valley the Fort Wine Co. founded in 2001 started with just a cranberry wine  & 10 years later they now offer customers a wide variety of 11 different wines while supporting local berry farmers and fruit farmers across British Columbia.

The unique part of the wine that is produced by the Fort Wine Co. is all their wines are grape free and are made from local British Columbia fruit. The winery offers a amazing up close experience from wine tastings with decadent cheese platters to drinking under the sun sipping away at fresh sangria’s.

The Fort Wine Co. is open till 6pm 7 days a week, and offers customers to sample 3 of their wines for free! Also offered is the chance to try their full menu of wines as while as their dessert wines for only $5.00. The winery also offers tours and event hosting.

This unique experience, is closer to home than most may think. A afternoon tasting decadent wines measures up close to a long drive to tour the wine fields in the Okanagan.

The ostensible economic benefits of buying local are fairly simple: It cuts out the middleman, puts more money into the local economy, and reduces transportation costs and environment-destroying, energy-wasting long hauls.

Now this might be a lot to swallow in one gulp, however when it comes down to buying local it’s a win, win situation. For starters, the middleman doesn’t live in Middle Earth. He’s often local and dependent upon large companies with better economies of scale to provide him with products he can afford to buy wholesale and for which there is a large enough market to resell profitably.

As for local money staying in the local economy, when you walk into your least-favorite national chain store, no one working behind the counter is likely to be someone who you have developed a relationship with, well maybe but try walking into a locally owned store and you will feel the difference instantly.

If the farmer next door happens to be Monsanto, you rethink buying local. What buying local really means is buying boutique-branded artisanal products that are crafted with tender loving care by actual human beings.

Witness the success of the slightly-more-expensive-but-supposedly-made-with-love-by-seemingly-small-companies Muir Glen, Kashi, and Odwalla — owned by General Mills, Kellogg, and Coca-Cola, respectively. Large corporations certainly aren’t unaware of local appeal and are happy to exploit it as a marketing tool.

The challenge for the socially conscious consumer is to determine whether a “local” purchase actually achieves what it’s supposed to achieve — a decision that should be made without fear of death and dismemberment.

In spite of all this buzz about the environment we are rarely reminded that harsh practices of agriculture results in the worlds largest in producing pollutants. According to research by the World Resources Institute agriculture is mankind’s biggest contributor to climate change, generating 26% of greenhouse gas emissions. Feeding the increasingly fast growing population is becoming to be unsustainable for our planet. This leaves the hunt to search for healthy, sustainable, yet scalable & profitable alternatives to our unsustainable food & agriculture sectors.

With the giant boom of interest in organics, organic food has enjoyed double digit growth in the past two decades & expected to grow to over 100 billion globally by 2015. Yet, unfortunately organic agriculture  in the US accounts for only 1% of all farmland today.

We cannot forever feed ourselves on fossil fuels, deforestation, & green house emissions. Today’s food and agriculture practices consume enormous amounts of fossil fuel for transportation, operation of farm machinery, and chemical production of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides: roughly 10 calories of fossil fuel go into every calorie of food we eat, representing 19% of all U.S. energy consumption.

Agriculture emits greenhouse gases with an order of magnitude worse global-warming potency than CO2, such as methane (from intensive livestock operations and rice fields) and nitrous oxide (from fertilizers and factory farm waste lagoons). Another agricultural emission, nitric oxide, is the main driver of the new acid rain that is killing forests and fish. Run-off of excess fertilizer from cropland and excess manure from factory farms is the primary cause of enormous aquatic dead zones in coastal waters globally, devastating marine life (and ironically, threatening human seafood supply). These marine dead zones in aggregate represent 95,000 square miles (about 20 times larger than the area impacted by last year’s BP oil spill).

One way to reduce the carbon footprint of our food is by eating locally & organic grown food, & reducing the fuel spent on transportation. Summer time is near which means heading down to your local farmers market and grabbing a delicious apple that actually tastes like an apple (weird right?). Start buying food that is made with locally sourced ingredients and made the way that food should be, free of chemicals, pesticides, & enzymes that speed up the natural process. We cannot feed ourselves forever on the current system. The time for developing more sustainable alternatives is right now.

They also offered “Energy Avenue” where attendees could explore and learn about ways to be energy efficient! The city of Surrey engineering department has gained Council support to establish a District Energy Utility in Surrey. This utility will distribute energy in the form of hot and cold water for the purpose of heating and cooling and will begin operation in 2013 in conjunction with the completion of the utility’s first customer, the New City Hall.

A Bread Affair had the opportunity to participate in this new tradition as we were featured in “Agriculture Alley.” This part of the festival showed the public how farmers feed the cities! Our bread was sold in a market type style and sold out in record time. They City of Surrey also offered attendees to participate in: seed planting, cow milking, & tutorials on chicken farmers of BC.

We would like to thank the City of Surrey for putting on this fabulous event and we look forward to what Earth month has to bring next year!

Wait…did we mention they’re made with fresh, local & organic ingredients? Now what’s stopping you from biting into hot buns?