Food by water.

When we talk about eating local, we often forget that for centuries, eating local wasn’t a choice. It just was. If it didn’t grow on your farm, or your neighbor’s, you most likely didn’t eat it. But as time went on and transportation improved, new foods popped up. This was especially true if you lived close to a waterway; boats and barges have for centuries been an essential method of food transportation. It comes as no surprise then that just as there is a return to localism, there is a return to food by boat. Enter the floating market.

It is no surprise that Europe, for example, has such a strong boat market culture, given its network of canals and rivers that have allowed its cities to flourish. If you’ve traveled, you may have discovered the floating markets in destinations like Thailand, Vietnam and Venice.

Current-day floating farmers markets allow not only access to food, but a discussion of the regional food landscape. In Vermont, Erik Andrus is raising money to launch a floating farmers market, building a 39-foot canal barge, that will take products from Vermont to New York City. The boat will be able to carry up to 12 tons of nonperishable goods, and the journey will take about 10 days. Slow travel, slow food.

In the Pacific Northwest, a similar concept is alive and thriving. Farm Boat Floating Market on Lake Union in Seattle, Washington is a 125-foot wooden vessel that opens up for a market once a week, selling local produce and artisan goods. But the boat is also part of a larger project, one that will ultimately consist of Floating Markets in 18 different ports in the Puget Sound region. That and taco boats.

On the other side of the country, David Berry of Merrymeeting Farm brings Maine’s island residents a fresh batch of produce and other local goods on what locals call “the vegetable boat.” In the case of food boats, sometimes it’s as simple as making the connection between supply and demand. As Berry told Down East, “I had the boat, and I had the [goods]. I’d been down the peninsulas delivering poultry from my parents’ farm when I was a teenager, and I knew that the people in those places — and on the islands — didn’t have good access to fresh produce. It was a wonderful combination, pulling my interests together into another enterprise.”

The same idea is behind Marché sur l’eau, Paris’ floating market. Allowing city residents to buy local products from the Île-de-France region; produce comes to Paris on the boat and is sold right on the quai at different locations during the week.

Expanding beyond the market concept, New York Sun Works’ The Science Barge puts a new spin on urban agriculture and is home to a a small farm that’s sustainable in every sense of the word. Launched in 2007, it’s now run by Groundwork Hudson Valley and docked in Yonkers.

In a world of semi-trucks and fast food, floating markets might not be the entire answer to the problems of our food system, but they’re certainly a part of it, and ultimately, remind us to slow down and think about what we’re eating and where it comes from.

Image: Russ Bowling

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Though it’s technically not summer in the U.S. for a couple more weeks, many of us consider the recently long holiday weekend as the jumping off point for three months of sun and fun anyway. As you’re dragging out tiki torches and festooning your patio with umbrellas and lawn chairs, here are five solar-powered gadgets that can add flair to anyone’s summer.

Helios Solar Grill Slap some garden burgers and skewers of vegetables on this sun-driven oven set-up and skip the lung-irritating charcoal. We’ve mentioned the Helios before, and as long as you don’t mind looking like you’re trying call in alien spacecrafts as you cook, the Helios is a great way to get your grill on.

Solar Ant Charmer Any ant can ruin a good picnic, but if you live in a region prone to fire ants, you know they’re more than just a nuisance – those little buggers hurt! Stab this little gadget into a fire ant hill, open the solar powered top, and let the little beasts drop into the cone. The Charmer emits a small electric charge that keeps the ants busy squirming as it fills up with their partners in crime. Once you’ve collected a nice batch of ants, dump in some warm, soapy water and send them to their watery graves. An ant killer with no harsh chemicals.

The Loon This 22-foot solar-assisted electric pontoon boat carries eight people and runs up to six hours on a charge. At a top speed of almost 10 MPH, you can put about 50 miles on this party barge without leaving a trail of emissions and other nasties behind.

Solar Powered Golf Cart If you’re a land lubber, tool around your neighborhood in this golf cart tricked out with 72 photovoltaic cells built into the roof to collect solar energy. Its maker claims the cart runs 33 percent longer than typical battery-powered golf carts and can tote you and your bags around the greens for a full ten rounds of golf before needing a recharge.

Juice Bag This beach tote has solar panels to recharge your mobile devices while you catch some rays of your own. Just plug your phone, camera, iPod, or GPS into the bag’s adapter, and the 52 waterproof micro solar cells will continue to charge your stuff as long as the bag is exposed to sunlight. The solar panel pops off for cleaning, and the bag itself is made from recycled PET products.

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