Eating Locally
Are you a locavore? I don’t know, the question kind of makes you want to look over both shoulders at who’s looking before you answer the question, or whisper to the person asking…”just what does that mean exactly?”. Having been a co-op member for over almost a decade and one who considers herself a quasi-foodie, I didn’t even really get this locavore thing. Below is the definition according to Wiki online: 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”[1] 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.[2] Oh, okay, I get it. A locavore is someone who not only wants to see their local economy thrive, but who actually cares about where their food comes from and how it was produced and what it may/may not do for their body. Yes, I am a locavore. So much so that I have driven forty-five minutes one way just for raw milk in the past. I even used my driveway as a drop site for a local farm’s fresh organic meat, eggs and Amish goodies (until a great little co-op opened just a mile from my house!).