Hy-per-loca-vore
noun
1) a person who tries to eat foods grown as close to their home as possible to reduce the number of miles the food must travel before it is consumed
2) someone who offers space in their garden to those who do not have the space or ability to grow their own garden.
origin
www.hyperlocavore.com
Ever wonder how you can do your part in this world? Reduce your “carbon footprint”? We have all joined the CFL movement and swapped our old energy-sucking light-bulbs for the new and improved variety. We are also conscious of how many miles to the gallon our cars use and are more and more buying Hybrid’s, but do we ever really think about where our food comes from? I mean where it really comes from!
It’s easy to pick up those beautifully ripe looking strawberries or the juicy grapes when we’re at the market and never give a thought as to how far they traveled to end up in front of you on that shelf. Even though I’m an avid gardener, I will admit I rarely look at the country of origin when selecting produce at the supermarket. It’s easy to do! When food is imported from another country, it can be en route for several weeks before arriving to it’s final destination. So you can only imagine that those seemingly perfect looking grapes must have been picked in a less than perfect state to be able to make the long journey. That’s just the beginning though, other countries don’t have the same standards and regulations as we do and can use harmful pesticides or growing practices that would never be permitted by the USDA. Insert “Hyperlocavores”; folks starting a movement where you are encouraged to look at where your food is really coming from and doing your part to limit the miles that food traveled to get to your fridge and even better if that food arrived their on foot….your feet to be exact and hopefully straight from your own backyard garden!
I encourage you to check the labels next time you pick up your produce!