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Sun, 09 Dec 2007

Word Of The Year 2007: Locavore!

From Union of Concerned Scientists 12/7/07 FEED newsletter.

O.K. I'll bite. What is a locavore??? At first glance, I thought the word was 'locovore' - a carnivore with mad cow disease maybe? Then in my dyslexic state I mispelled it as 'lovacore' - someone who lives on love? Finally I got it right. The New Oxford American Dictionary's 2007 Word of the Year is LOCAVORE, defined as 'a person who seeks out locally produced food'.

UCS tells us that the local foods movement is gaining momentum as people discover that the best-tasting and most sustainable choices are foods that are fresh, seasonal, and grown close to home. Amen! Some locavores draw inspiration from the 100-mile diet or from advocates of local eating like Barbara Kingsolver. Others just follow their taste buds to farmers' markets, community supported agriculture programs, and community gardens.

Savvy Veg notes that UCS doesn't mention your own back yard as a source of locally grown food. However, if your thumb is even slightly green, and there's any way that you can grow things where you live - just do it!

A few of the many reasons why growing veggies is my favorite way to eat locally:

• Grow a lot of food in a little space from just a few little seeds. You can even buy food seeds & plants with food stamps!
• Turn your kitchen scraps into compost for your plants, and send less garbage to the landfill.
• It costs almost nothing to grow food, especially if you scrounge for free local materials and inputs.
• Gardening is a great way to get fresh air and exercise, save on gym fees, and escape doing the dishes.
• It's Cheap Therapy: You can't have a problem when you're digging in the dirt.
• Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, tastes as good as a veggie you just harvested from your own garden, even if your garden is just a lone tomato plant on your apartment balcony

Check out Local Harvest to find sustainably grown food near you, and make a New Year's Resolution to become a Locavore in 2008!