Lawmakers want you to eat California-grown on Sundays

The resolution, passed Thursday by the Senate and earlier in the month by the Assembly, grew out of an ah-ha moment for Assemblywoman Fiona Ma.

  ·  Los Angeles Times   ·  Link to Article

With all the talk about eating locally grown food, you might think we wouldn't need reminding. But the California Legislature thinks otherwise: It has passed a resolution urging Californians to eat food grown in the state on Sundays.

The resolution, passed Thursday by the Senate and earlier in the month by the Assembly, grew out of an ah-ha moment for Assemblywoman Fiona Ma.

As an urban dweller, she said at a news conference Friday, "I didn't think twice about where we get our food. I just went to the local supermarket." But now that she's on the Agriculture Committee, she has toured more than 50 farms and has become "just blown away and excited about this industry."

She said she hopes many other residents will have similar realizations about what they eat -- and what they drink. She said she always orders California wines in restaurants.

California produces more than 400 commodities, including chickens, avocados, oranges and milk. Friday's news conference was held at the Original Farmers Market in Mid-City L.A., where farmers drove their trucks to sell crops beginning in the 1930s.

A resolution similar to the state's Eat Local, Buy California Grown Day was expected to go before the L.A. City Council.

While it will be hard to track the effects of the resolution (officials say it could mean billions of dollars in sales), we'd like to know what our elected officials are eating for Sunday dinner a few months from now.