In the growing spirit of reducing the number of miles/kilometers food travels before reaching the kitchen, the chefs of Parisian Starwood Hotels have launched their own stylized “100% Local” menu with ingredients all planted, grown, and harvested within a 100-mile radius of the Paris city center. These environmentally conscious menus, with local produce and reduced carbon footprints, will be available until December 19th in five Starwood hotel restaurants in Paris.
This “100% Local” initiative is very similar to the one in San Francisco called Locavores, a group of concerned foodies who only eat foods grown or harvested within a 100-mile radius of San Francisco for an entire month. Get it? Loca(l)vores?
The group claims that the globalization of food distribution networks means food travels 1,500 miles on average before reaching our tummies. Consequently, this high level of “food miles” traveled has a significant impact on energy and emissions, but also reduces financial support to our local agricultural economies.
The 100% Local Menu in Paris was in response to customers’ consumption habits even when eating out. Less than 10 days after the launch of this new initiative, over 200 “100% Local Menus” were sold in the five Paris hotel restaurants, a result that encouraged Starwood to consider reproducing this initiative every season and even permanently include “100% Local Menu” dishes in menus throughout the world.
More information about the Paris “100 Local” Menu is available right here.
