Becoming “Localvores”

This past year we joined more than a hundred other families in our wider community in northwest Vermont to learn how to become "localvores."

"Localvore" is a term that was coined recently to identify a small but burgeoning movement of people who are trying to support local farmers and strengthen their local economies by making it a priority to eat foods that have been produced "locally." The definition of "local" is left up to the individual, typically expressed in terms of a radius of so many miles from one's home or within the boundaries of one's bioregion. Most localvores still continue using oils, spices, tea, coffee, and other personally important items that are not currently produced locally. The idea is to raise consciousness and empower us to act constructively to improve the quality and sustainability of our food supply.

Many of us who jumped on the localvore bandwagon did so because we were shocked to learn how much agribusiness giants have come to dominate the world's food supply, so that most of our food is now being trucked or flown in from distant places. (The average meal is said to travel about 2,000 miles to our tables.) This situation has reached a crisis stage, because our very means of sustenance has become dependent on fossil fuels at a time when world petroleum production either has peaked or is about to peak, with the result that supplies will get tighter and prices will go much higher. We are also concerned that the agribusiness giants have put a lot of small farmers and local food processors out of business, so we will have fewer options when the fossil-fuel driven national and international food chain breaks down.

To a large extent, we have been "localvores" for the many years we have been growing some of our own vegetables. We have been doing this largerly for the better flavor and nutrition, but we have been reaping good physical and mental exercise in the bargain. Now we realize that, as important as such individual choices are, we really need to get organized to keep agribusiness from wiping our our remaining food options. Our collective efforts as localvores include not only sharing information about local food sources, swapping recipies, and negotiating with local markets to get them to carry and promote more locally grown fare. We also have a better chance of influencing public policy when we act as a group to keep informed about legislation and regulations regarding the vitality of our food system, as well as the safety and nutrition of the food we eat.

You may find interesting and helpful our column on "Cultivating Right Relationship" with our food that appeared in the January 2007 Friends Journal.

For those who want to find out more about "Eating Locally, Thinking Globally," 
here are some other resources:

         Websites: 
<www.eatlocalvt.org> 
<http://homefordinner.blogspot.com/>

Shipping is a terrible thing to do to vegetables. They probably get jet-lagged, just like people.

—Elizabeth Berry....