Locavores
A locavore is a person interested in eating food that is locally produced, not moved long distances to market. The locavore movement in the United States and elsewhere was spawned as interest in sustainability and eco-consciousness became more prevalent.[1]
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[edit] Derivation
The word "locavore" was the word of the year for 2007 in the Oxford American Dictionary.[2] This word was the creation of Jessica Prentice of the San Francisco Bay Area at the time of World Environment Day, 2005.[3] It is usually rendered "localvore" by some, depending on regional differences.[4][5]
[edit] Strategies
The food may be grown in home gardens or grown by local commercial groups interested in keeping the environment as clean as possible and selling food close to where it is grown. One often cited, but not universal, definition of "local" food is food grown within 100 miles of its point of purchase or consumption.[6]
Farmers' markets play a role in efforts to eat what is local.[7] Preserving food for those seasons when it is not available fresh from a local source is one approach some locavores include in their strategies. Living in a mild climate can make eating locally grown products very different from living where the winter is severe or where no rain falls during certain parts of the year.[8] Those in the movement generally seek to keep use of fossil fuels to a minimum, thereby releasing less carbon dioxide into the air and preventing greater global warming. Keeping energy use down and using food grown in heated greenhouses locally would be in conflict with each other, so there are decisions to be made by those seeking to follow this lifestyle. Many approaches can be developed, and they vary by locale.[9] Such foods as spices, chocolate, or coffee pose a challenge for some, so there are a variety of ways of adhering to the locavore ethic.[10]
A related movement is the 'underground supper club' phenomenon, in which organizers use sustainable ingredients and use a Website to inform a waiting list of those who donate a given sum to pay for the food used.[11]
[edit] Criticism
The locavore movement is sometimes criticised as being idealistic or not actually achieving the environmental benefits its proponents claim.[12]
[edit] In Popular culture
The December 31, 2011 guest strip for the comic Bizarro featured a man about to eat a hand sandwich. It was titled "Radical Locavore".[13]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ The Locavores website.
- ^ "Oxford Word Of The Year: Locavore". Oxford University Press.
- ^ "Become a Locavore". Easton Farmers Market.
- ^ "Locavore or localvore?", Language Log.
- ^ Drake Bennett (July 22, 2007). "The localvore's dilemma", The Boston Globe.
- ^ "Local-Food Movement: The Lure of the 100-Mile Diet". Time. 11 June 2006. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1200783,00.html.
- ^ Jennifer Maiser (November 2, 2007). "10 Steps to Becoming a Locavore", PBS.
- ^ Ratha Tep; Nick Fauchald (February 2007). "How to Eat Like a Locovore", Food & Wine.
- ^ http://blogs.mercurynews.com/food/2008/01/24/the-locovore-challenge/
- ^ "The Lure of the 100-Mile Diet", Time (June 11, 2006).
- ^ http://www.blog.newsweek.com/blogs/tipsheet/archive/2008/05/31/gourmets-go-underground.aspx
- ^ "Green Eggs and Ham", [[The Journal of Critical Animal Studies (Journal)|]] (2010).
- ^ "Radical Locavore". thecomicstrips.com. http://www.thecomicstrips.com/store/add_strip.php?iid=74368. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
[edit] External links
- Small, Green, and Good: The Role of Neglected Cities in a Sustainable Future, a Boston Review article which argues that declining cities can use urban agriculture to provide local food sources
- The Feast Nearby - a Book Review
