Locavores LOVE Eating Locally!

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How would you feel eating only foods from within 100 miles of your home?

Coined by a Bay Area group, the term "locavore" refers to people who only eat food grown, processed and produced within a 100 mile radius of where they live.

Whether you call yourself a locavore or say that you are on the 100 Mile Diet, the concept of truly eating locally is starting to catch interest. Already gone organic but wish you could do more? You might want to give this concept a try!

What Is "Local Food?" 

Farmers' market]]

Local food (also regional food or food patriotism) or the local food movement is a "collaborative effort to build more locally based, self-reliant food economies - one in which sustainable food production, processing, distribution, and consumption is integrated to enhance the economic, environmental and social health of a particular place"Feenstra, G. (2002) Creating space for sustainable food systems: lessons from the field. Agriculture and Human Values. 19(2). 99-106. and is considered to be a part of the broader sustainability movement. It is part of the concept of

local purchasing and local economies, a preference to buy locally produced goods and services. Those who prefer to eat locally grown/produced food sometimes call themselves locavores or localvores.Roosevelt, M. (2006) The Lure of the 100-Mile Diet. Time Magazine. Sunday June 11, 2006. Accessed at http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1200783,00.html on Nov 1, 2007 at 10:35 am PDT).

Learn More About Eating Locally 

articles about locavorism and eating locally

Did you know that most food has to travel about 1,500 from production location to consumer? That's a lot of fuel consumed to move it and a fair amount of pollution along the way. Being a locavore can help lessen dependency on fossil fuels and cut down on that pollution. By supporting regional food production, many more varieties of fruits and vegetables are preserved and cultivated, which contributes towards saving the planet's biodiversity too.

'Locavores' Dine on Regional Chow -
Local, sustainable eating is a noble cause. As advocates like Alice Waters and Michael Pollan have labored to make clear, it's good for both eater and eaten, not to mention the economy and the planet. The 100-mile diet is perhaps the quickest and cleverest way to build awareness of food miles, and the pleasures and challenges of local "foodsheds."
The Lure of the 100-Mile Diet | TIME
If you live in the town of Athens in southeastern Ohio, there are politically correct reasons not to eat a California strawberry. Think of the pollution and the global warming caused by its transport....
Locavores and 100 Mile Dieters: Sustainable, organic, local, ethical food movement
Eating locally is gaining converts and making me crazy. Why do we take a good idea and push it to illogical extremes? Eat only from a 100 mile radius? Seriously?
ENVIRONMENT IN FOCUS / Diet for a sustainable planet / The challenge: Eat locally for a month (You can start practicing now)
Diet for a sustainable planet, The challenge: Eat locally for a month (You can start practicing now) Olivia Wu, Chronicle Staff Writer, Wednesday, June 1, 2005
100 Mile Diet: Local Eating for Global Change
When the average North American sits down to eat, each ingredient has typically traveled at least 1,500 miles from farm to plate.
Living on the 100-Mile Diet :: Life :: thetyee.ca
thetyee.ca, British Columbia's online source for News, Views, and Culture, published weekdays.
Time to Become a "Locavore"
Time to Become a "Locavore" Published on Monday, October 9, 2006 by the Seattle Times (Washington)
How to Eat Like a Locavore | Food & Wine
A new group of cooks is taking the "eat local" dictum to an extreme: They'll only buy ingredients produced within a 100-mile radius.
How to Be a Locavore / The Pennywise Eat Local Challenge, April 23-29
Read how a Bay Area locavore challenge was for three households.
Food Trends: Don't Just Eat Organic, Eat Local
For a growing number of food purists, eating organic is no longer enough. These days, eating locally grown food is just as important.
Become a locavore: Top reasons for eating locally grown food
One key strategy to eating nutritionally sound produce is to make sure it is grown locally. When you shop at a farmer's market or pick-your-own farm, you're rewarded by some of the best-tasting fruits and vegetables Mother Nature has to offer.

Seasonal Eating

One tip for helping to become a locavore is to learn to eat seasonally. This means only eating food when it is fresh and in season, and giving it up for those times of the year when it's not locally available.

Locavore Books 

Here are some great books from folks who've actually put the concept of eating locally to the test! There are some great stories here as well as a lot of very helpful advice for if you decide to make this a part of your lifestyle.

Plenty: One Man, One Woman, and a Raucous Year of Eating Locally

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Amazon Price: (as of 07/09/2009) Buy Now
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Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life

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List Price: $26.95

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The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals

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Amazon Price: $16.98 (as of 07/09/2009) Buy Now
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Coming Home to Eat: The Pleasures and Politics of Local Foods

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Local Flavors: Cooking and Eating from America's Farmers' Markets

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The Latest Locavore Blogs 

Read what some Locavores themselves have to say about local eating!
Locavore Eating, Cheeky Monkey Style « Green Life Smart Life
Locavore Eating, Cheeky Monkey Style. Posted on June 27, 2009 by castercomm. I've blogged about these guys before but tonight I am working and eating at the Cheeky Monkey in Narragansett, RI. Jeff Cruf, chef owner, embodies all that is ...
Local Humor - Overheard at the Fish Market
I'm thrilled that so many people are making efforts to eat locally. I hear about it everywhere I go, especially at the fish market. Each time I'm sure to ask specifically where the fish comes from. Most of it is caught around here, ...
Blackberry Mush Recipe
Begin by placing your washed blackberries in a saucepan. I had about 2 pints give or take here. Then add about a cup of water, or enough so that the berries aren't swimming, but the water is almost level with them in the pan. ...
Boil your blackberry, sugar and water mixture over medium for ...
Boil your blackberry, sugar and water mixture over medium for about twenty minutes to a half an hour. Stir and press on the berries to break them up. Do not allow them to scorch or to get too thick and jammy. If it seems to be too thick ...

Join The Cow Pool!

If you want to have fresh milk and meat, consider buying into partial ownership of a cow at a local farm. This practice is called "cow pooling" and can also be done with pigs. Check to see if any organic farms in your area offer this great option.

The Farmer's Market 

One of the best ways to connect with locally-grown produce and foods is to find any Farmer's Markets in your area. These let local farmers sell direct to the public without any middle-men. Often produce is picked the day of market and is very ecomonical. Produce will vary with only what is "in season" being offered for sale so you may find some of your eating habits changing as you only eat what is fresh-picked and not mass-produced in another country.

Nature's Bounty by Austin Wondolowski

pike place market seattle

farmers market 007 by bebe beaux

super sweet Oxnard

FARMERS MARKET SAN FRANCISCO by pngrick

Farmers market san francisco

Hermosa Beach Farmers Market by hansbergsten

Hermosa Beach Farmers Market

Farmers Market Opening Day 2006 by beeseason

The Lawrence Farmers Market

Farmer's Market Raspberries by Jippolito

from the Union Sq. Farmer's Market

Red and green peppers, Allentown Farmer's Market by Martin LaBar

Allentown Farmer's Market

Farmer's market sweet corn. by AnneRosso

Farmer's market sweet corn

Artichokes at the Santa Barbara farmer's market by Liblee

Santa Barbara Farmer's Market

Array by Crystal Chick

Memphis Farmers Market

Fiddleheads by konaboy

Fiddlehead ferns at the Hilo Farmer's Market

Local Eating Groups 

These organizations and websites are working to promote local eating in their regional areas.

Please email me if you have a group in your area that I don't have listed here!
Locavores
Join the Locavores in a celebration of our local food cornucopia -- eat locally this August! - SF/Bay Area
Welcome to Eat Local
Eat Local is a new food concept offering chef-prepared organic and wholesome meals, gourmet in preparation and frozen for convenience.
100 Mile Diet: Local Eating for Global Change
When the average North American sits down to eat, each ingredient has typically traveled at least 1,500 miles from farm to plate.
www.eatlocalchallenge.com
www.eatlocalchallenge.com is a group blog on local eating
Do the 100 mile diet on 43 Things
Join other people who want to do the 100 mile diet
Local food | Soil Association producer services
Organic food, organic farming: Soil Association is campaigning for organic food, organic farming and sustainable forestry.
Regional Food Online
Local eating in Australia
The Food Project: Blast Youth Initiative
Eat In, Act Out Week is an annual event to encourage communities to eat locally and think critically about their food choices
Upper Valley Localvores
Upper Valley Localvores is a unincorporated community group formed to support and celebrate eating food from our region: New Hampshire and Vermont, specifically along the Connecticut River.
MAD RIVER VALLEY Localvore Project
Eat Locally - Spice Globally!
Food and Faith: How to be a locavore
Thirteen plant foods can be grown successfully anywhere in the continental United States. These can be eaten locally and in season without needing to import them from afar.
How To Be a Yelp Locavore - Washington DC
If challenged to consume only food grown or harvested within 100 miles of your 'hood, could you do it? Should you do it? What would compel you even to try and be a locavore - concern for the environment, support of local farmers, the promise of fresher food or possible protection from bioterrorism?

Start Your Own Garden!

Growing your own vegetables can be a rewarding and cost-effective way of getting local and organic produce. Learn more about container and backyard gardening.

Join The Eat Local Challenges 

news articles on local eating

From July through October, different locavore groups stage "Eat Local Challenges" where people are invited to give local eating a try. The host months are most often the peak of the local harvest season, when the most produce and foods can be gotten more easily. Why not give it a try?
Cordata food co-op's Eat Local event features music, cooking demos
Part of the larger Eat Local, America! Challenge, the food fest is from noon to 3 pm, Sunday, July 12, at the Cordata location, 315 Westerly Road. ...
Joel Landau: Take the eat local challenge
And local restaurateurs often choose local ingredients because they taste better. The Eat Local Challenge began in 2005 in Portland, Ore. ...
Taste a bit of local flavor
"The challenge for us is to get people to learn to eat seasonally and enjoy it. But one of the real joys of eating seasonally is waiting for those great ...
Buy local week: Take the challenge for a greener community
Buying from a local farm cuts down on the distance food travels, reducing the consumption of oil and carbon emissions nationwide. "I pledge to eat at least ...

Locavore Message Board 

Let's hear about your local eating efforts and resources! (all comments must be approved and will have HTML stripped out of them)

stargazer00 wrote...

Makes sense to me. Lensrolled to my Eating Locally lens.

ReplyPosted June 05, 2009

NanLT wrote...

5* and I've lensrolled this to me "Veg in a box" lens.

ReplyPosted April 15, 2009

KadabaCo wrote...

Great lens! 5*'s! Our neighbors want to cow-pool and we're considering it closely! Things like dairy and meat seem to be missing from our local farmers market... hmmmm!

ReplyPosted January 27, 2009

SustainableSarah wrote...

Yes!!! So nice to see a lens from a locavore- nice work. And I think you've covered all of the main books I recommend as well, although I haven't read coming home to eat (but now I will!). I've actually been working on my own lens on eating local, but I'll make sure to reference you. :)

ReplyPosted September 13, 2008

Wbisbill wrote...

Cool info - thanks from a fan!

ReplyPosted August 25, 2008

 
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Locavore is Word of the Year for 2007!

The Oxford University Press picked "locavore" as their Word of the Year for 2007!