What Is A Locavore?

A locavore is someone that only eats food that is from a 100 mile radius from their house.

I was reading through this month’s Bicycling magazine and came across an article about locavorism. I do my best to be a locavore. I visit my local farmers market regularly to buy seasonal produce and other products. I know I am not perfect, but I make my efforts a regular habit.

I know doing this has a lot of positive environment conscious effects. Some of these are less fuel consumed to bring the food to my area, less greenhouse gases emitted into the air due to less distance needed to be traveled, as well as less wear and tear on our highways and roadways.

What I hadn’t thought about though were the health benefits. The shorter amount of time your food takes to get to you, the higher nutritional content it will have. After fruits and vegetables are picked, time, temperature changes, ultraviolet light and exposure to air tend to accelerate the decomposition process, therefore zapping your food of its nutrients more and more the longer it takes to get to your plate. Would you eat fish that was driven from across the country in a truck that had been merely iced the entire time? You probably wouldn’t. Well, we should begin to change our thinking about all of the other foods we eat, as this similar process has a similar effect. Also, most local grown produce is either organic or low-pesticide, thus eliminating the amount of toxins we put into our bodies.

Another benefit of locavorism is that you are supporting your local farmers and food processors. Doing so generally keeps the finances of your purchase tied to your local city or town, thus continuously cycling those funds through your local economy.

So check out your local farmers markets and see what a difference it makes to your meals!