Eat Local — Become a Locavore!
Have you ever wondered what a locavore is? This term that refers to people who try to get most of their food from local resources or to grow it themselves. That means shopping at farmers’ markets and sometimes paying more for pasture-fed, grass-fed and organic foods.
Does it sound crazy to spend more money on food than you have to? Why not buy the cheapest food possible? Does it really matter how food is grown, where it’s grown and who grows it? Do you think locavores are loco?
If you’re fortunate enough to live in California, you have year-round farmers’ markets at your disposal. Eating local is easy. But for most of us, the local markets are just beginning to come to life with a few stands of early spring crops.
Either way, I encourage you to develop a habit of
visiting your farmers’ market on a regular basis as soon as it’s open. We all need
to support our local small farmers if we are truly serious about improving the
quality of our food. Grocery stores negotiate prices with large
industrial farms to produce hundreds of acres of a single crop in soils
depleted of nutrients and sprayed with herbicides and insecticides.
These crops are picked while green, sprayed with ripening agents, and shipped across the country in
diesel trucks that are one of the major sources of air pollution in our
country.
By shopping at the farmers' markets, you'll get freshly
picked, vine-ripened produce. Most are grown the old-fashioned way in fields
where crop-rotation is practiced and where soils are fertilized and pests are controlled naturally. Your purchases support these
small businesses and make your community a better place.
Most important, you’ll enjoy the intense flavor of food ripened on the vine and consumed shortly after it’s been harvested. If you get a chance to talk with the farmers, you’ll learn to appreciate the hard work that goes into producing your food. The expense might be a little more, but you’ll be less likely to throw it out. So, in the end, you might find that the cost is not that much more.
Another great option is to have fresh produce delivered to your front door each week! There are many services around the country that do this, and usually you’re able to pick the produce you want in your box. I use The Produce Box here in Raleigh, but you can search online for what’s available in your neck of the woods.
Finally, to become a full-fledged locavore, try growing your own vegetables in a raised bed or containers on the patio. There’s nothing quite as delicious as a sun-warmed cherry tomato picked off the plant and immediately popped into your mouth!
Go crazy! Become a loco locavore!