I was thumbing through my Metropolitan Home magazine this past weekend. I still question why I read this at times because most of the sofas featured cost half my salary. However, I got the subscription for free and I like to try to recreate the things I see in it for a more realistic price.
Every now and then there are some short blurbs about topics that are interesting with links to some new web-sites. This weekend there was an ‘every now and then’ event.
Maybe I’ve been completely out of it, but I have never heard the term Locavore. According to the magazine a Locavore is someone who tries to eat foods that are grown or produced locally. From the limited research I’ve done, it looks like it was started in San Francisco. Big surprise there. I think all physical and environmental health movements began somewhere in that area.
The important word here for me is ‘tries’. It is almost impossible to get all of your food locally depending on where you live, but I definitely think it is important to put forth an effort.
Right now I am living abroad in Brazil and I think I can claim to be a true Locavore. I buy my foods from the farmer’s market each week which comes from farmer’s who live in and outside my town. Between this and my local bakery, I would estimate that 80% of the food I eat is local.
Maintaining my Locavore status will probably prove to be a more difficult task when I move back to the States, but that won’t stop me from trying. It is a great way to reduce fake foods. The more produce and fresh products you eat the less room you have for all those packaged non-food items.
The challenge for me will be the price. Yes, it is worth it, but our local farmer’s market in the US is quite expensive. I want those farmers to have the money they need, but many times I feel like they are cashing in on all the higher society people who have the money to spend there.
Then again, a recent trip to the grocery store in the US showed me that prices for produce have skyrocketed there as well. So maybe there isn’t much of a difference at this point.
Are you a Locavore? What are some of the challenges you face with being or becoming one?
Photo by jeltovski at morguefile.com
Hi – I saw your note on Lifebuzz indicating you were starting this blog and this is an interest of mine, too. I like your term “fake food”. That is exactly what I am trying to avoid. I am currently obese, but have recently embraced a more whole foods, clean eating, “locavore” kind of thing. My husband and I are loving it and we are losing weight. I never heard the locavore term before, and living in Minnesota, it is not easy in the Winter! But, we are trying to eat more locally this summer. For me, the main issue is to eat things that are as unprocessed as possible – whole grains, fresh fruits/veg, fresh caught fish, etc. I do a lot more cooking at home these days. We have eliminated anything with high fructose corn syrup and partially hydrogenated fats. Both of us are amazed at how much more we can taste of everything we are eating. Of course, you have probably already seen that living outside the US. It seems to be just our country that is so wild about chemicals and artificial everything. Anyway – best wishes and I look forward to your future posts.
Barb
Hi Barb –
Welcome to the blog! Thanks so much for commenting. Good for you! It sounds like you are making some wonderful changes.
I look forward to more comments from you to see how it is all going. Hopefully I can keep the posts interesting. 🙂
Take care,
Lori
Lori, nice blog topic. You’ve hit a theme close to my heart: fresh food. I totally agree with you about avoiding fake food. Last year I was reading “Energía sin límites” by Deepak Chopra and he said that if you stop eating sugar and flour you would have way more energy. So I did, and lost 5 pounds in like a month or two. And I didn’t even do it to loose weight. I was more energetic too, starting from day one of not eating flour and sugar. Most processed food has flour and/or sugar. You’re definitely on to something with your fake food free blog.
Locavore was the Oxford word of the year last year, but I think living abroad keeps us sheltered, to an extent, from America’s new fads and movements, and this one seems to be a movement according to Business Week.
http://www.businessweek.com/
bwdaily/dnflash/content/may2008/
db20080520_920283_page_2.htm
Barb, that’s cool to hear you and your husband are into the locavore thing. I’m from Grand Rapids (although I live in Chile) and have wondered about how a Minnesotan would be a locavore. Here in Chile it’s easier because they have so many tasty fruits and vegetables and the growing season is all year round. We do have abundant food in Minnesota, though gardening season lasts like 3 months. But for example, have you ever eaten a pumpkin? We use them almost strictly for decoration in the States (or Thanksgiving Pie–and we buy canned pumpkin!) and here in Chile they eat Chilean pumpkins all year round. They make bread, soup, and stew with it. (The Chilean pumpkin is a bit different from the North American pumpkins). But other local foods we have: deer (you must know a hunter), wild rice, maple syrup, and of course whatever you can grow in your garden. A friend of my aunt actually eats out of her garden almost all year. She freezes both fruits and veggies. For example, she freezes the extra tomatoes whole in August/September and they last her well into the winter. Obviously when they thaw out, she cooks with them, because they are mushy. However, she says they cook really well and taste excellent. I think it’s more possible to be Minnesota locavores than we actually know. We’ve grown up in a culture of fast and processed food, which puts us at a disadvantage. But I have faith in the locavore thing, after all the Ojibwes were locavores. Hahaha. If I ever get back to Minnesota I’m going to study their diet to see if they have any good suggestions on what to eat.
Sorry for the long comment Lori, but locavorism is my new favorite food topic.
Hi Maeskizzle – Thanks for your comment. I welcome them, long and short. 🙂
I did see that about the term and its award. It is difficult to stay in touch with some things in the US while abroad, that is for sure.
I had the opportunity to hear Deepak Chopra speak at a conference about two years ago. It was really good, but I have yet to read any of his books.
My parents are like that with their garden, eating all year round. I hope to be like that in a few years when we get settled back in the States. There is such a huge push for gardening in the health field. It has so many benefits from physical to mental with growth and development when you do it with youth.
Thanks for your input!!