Locavores are people who consciously choose to eat locally grown/produced food, recognizing that the choices they make about the foods they choose to eat are important politically, environmentally, economically, and healthfully. There is some crossover or inspiration drawn from concepts/books like The 100 Mile Diet and the works of Barbara Kingsolver, author/local eating advocate.
The word "locavore" was the Oxford American Dictionary's Word of the year for 2007, exemplifying the movement toward fresh, sustainable food that supports local agriculture. The word was was coined by Jessica Prentice from the San Francisco Bay Area on World Environment Day 2005 to describe and promote the practice of eating a diet consisting of food harvested from within an area most commonly bound by a 100 mile radius.
Local food networks include family farms, farmer's markets, Community Supported Agriculture, food co-ops, and seed saver groups. The networks become a community: a collaborative effort to build more locally based, self-reliant food economies, in which sustainable food production, processing, distribution, and consumption is integrated to enhance the economic, environmental and social health of a particular place.
Detractors are put off by the thought of being limited to eating only what grows within a 100-mile radius, stating that in today's global identity this is nearly impossible.
(Photo credit: SXC)
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