Carnivore: Kar.Ne.Vor. [Carnis Flesh + Vorare To eat, Devour] Pertaining to eating or living on flesh.
Locavore: Lo.Ka.Vor. [Locus Place + Vorare To eat, Devour, Consume] To eat a varied diet within one's locality.
No, I am not brilliant enough to write that all from memory; I am very good friends with our dictionary. ;) If you ever find a dictionary that has the word 'locavore' in it, let me know; I know it's not in mine!
The term locavore is becoming a new catchphrase in certain circles. People want to know where their food is coming from. They want to see for themselves that their food is clean, healthy and humane. They want to personally know the person who grew their carrots, beef or milk. Ultimately, they would like to keep their food dollars as local as possible.
"Well Caity, that sounds very nice and all, but have you SEEN the prices those local people put on their food!"
Yes, I hear you. ;)
Folks, this is a two way road in the locavore world. It's up to us farmer's to provide that good food for those who want it, buuuut we also need to be sensitive to the fact that,while many may want our food, the price tag we put on our products can scare even the bravest off.
To those of us on the patron side, (that sounds so much nicer than being called a "consumer"... Makes me sound like I'm a vacuum, sucking up whatever crosses my path), and I am in that group too as I can't grow everything (!), we need to remember that as prices in the agriculture world skyrocket (or at least in my state!) it's getting more and more expensive to raise those chickens to harvesting size, or get that milk from the goats and cows. I can't speak for everyone, but I know that I personally have a very hard time telling people that my goat milk is $10 per gallon. Ouch. But honestly though, I'm not putting that price tag on my milk because I know that some people will pay it, or even because that's what most goat raisers are doing. It's because if I lower my price any, I'll sink.
We just can't win, can we? We want local food, but we also want that supermarket price tag to go with it! Hmm.
I have been mulling over that dilemma for the past couple of weeks, trying to figure out how I could keep my produce affordable for both myself when it comes to buying things, and for people who buy from me. Folks, (I know, that's my second time to say it in one post) I want to be able to provide good homegrown food for those who want it. I want to help those in my locality have fresh, local food! While I am single, and at home, and if it is the Lord's will, I want to use my time to provide as much as I can for my family, and those around me.
"Wow Caity, You're sounding quite grand there, but what about those of us who aren't in your state? What are we supposed to do?"
Oh yeah, you guys probably want some attention too, don't you? I would say start by looking through www.localharvest.org This quickly became one of my favorite websites, for locally sourcing my food. See if your area hosts a Farmer's Market. If you are really new to locally sourcing your food, I would highly recommend reading Joel Salatin's book, titled 'Holy Cows and Hog Heaven: A food buyers guide to farm friendly food'. Joel writes with a passion and energy that just makes you want to jump in the car and go find some local food!
Locally sourcing your food is a process that can go as fast or as slow as you want it. Right now, it's going pretty slow for me and my family, but that's okay! Right now I'm mostly just getting a feel for what all we can get locally, when it's in season, how much it will cost, etc., but each baby step taken will get you one step further than you were before.
So now that I've rambled and completely forgotten what exactly was my goal when typing this down, I'll wrap it up with a question. Call it a challenge, if you will.
What is something you could buy local this week, instead of buying it store bought?
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