LOCAVORE

New word. New diet. New goal?
Coined by Jessica Prentice from the San Francisco Bay Area in 2005, Wikipedia defines Locavore as “someone who eats food grown or produced locally or within a certain radius such as 50, 100, or 150 miles.”

Why become a Locavore?

You help the environment. Decreasing the distance food travels releases less carbon emissions, and small farms often plant diverse crops which reduce soil degradation.

You help out farms. Over 90¢ of every dollar you spend at a farmers market goes directly to the farmer who produced the food. When you buy produce at a grocery store, vegetables farmers get only 21¢ of your dollar.

How to become one?

Join a Community Supported Agricultural (CSA) group, eat in season, request it at grocery stores, start small and plan your meals. The USDA defines a CSA as “a community of individuals who pledge support to a farm operation…in return, they receive shares in the farm’s bounty throughout the growing season.”

A few tips:

Don’t be scared of a little dirt on your vegetables. Ask questions. You may be surprised to find that your organic apple from Whole Foods traveled three thousand miles to reach the store. Try new foods. Remember that even if something is in a package and looks clean, it might not be healthy. Trust your local farmer instead.

(the above was adapted from an article by Gina Marie Cheeseman for Jolly Green Girl)
+  and when you get some local bacon, here's a guilty pleasure.

PH •