Locavore

Learned a new word today…locavore.  Ever since I read “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” by Barbara Kingsolver I have been paying a little more attention to the movement going on these days of eating locally grown food.  I like the idea a lot….doing it is tough.  And of course the word ‘locavore’ is new coinage for people who eat only locally grown food. 

Being the product of two farming families, farming is in my blood and been a part of my life since conception.  My earliest memories are of romping around the Hallsted and Poff farms with my boatload of cousins.  I knew, at a young age where our food comes from.  I have memories seared into my 5 year-old brain of Grandma Poff breaking chicken necks, hanging them by their necks from a clothes line across the back yard 20 at a time, defeathering them and then butchering them. Nothing romantic about this memory. 

I am continually amazed by how detached our society is regarding their source of food.  You hear weird stories from time to time of someone’s experience at finally realizing where bacon, or pork chops or steaks come from. 

I experienced one of those stories one day driving through the back roads of Kentucky with a friend.  Monique was born and raised in New York City.  She had not traveled much and when she did she tended to gravitate toward other big cities.  On this ride as we were cruising through scenic Kentucky she pointed toward an animal grazing in a field and asked what it was.  Stunned I asked, “Are you serious?”  She was perplexed at my response.  But she was pointing toward a milk cow!  When I explained what it was, she said “Euweee, gross, I’ll never drink milk again!!”  Not sure if she held to that, but really…. a milk cow!!!

So, what’s so great about being a locavore?  Well, buying fresh from your local farmers market is a very fun way to shop, much, much better than Krogers or Publix.  Plus, you are not contributing toward the cost of transportation from Venezuela to Cincinnati with the environmental impact and all that implies.  You know you are supporting your local economy, and not just your local economy, but farmers, who are a huge piece of the backbone of this country who desperately need our support.

Being a true locavore is a very tough thing to do.  I mean giving up my clementines and bananas is almost impossible.  But, in my defense, I do think about this issue and I do strive toward being a locavore.  I’m just not quite there yet.