What the heck is a 'Locavore'? ;)

Here I sit as a ‘Certified Eco-Pro’ in my sustainably designed space wondering what’s next.  I mean sure it’s easy to incorporate as many elements of LEED into my green designs and to respect the natural environment wherever possible.  Recycling, reducing, reusing...I get it, but how can I go beyond this?  How can I further reduce my carbon footprint and enhance my healthy living on a daily basis? 

So I decided to start in the area of my house that terrifies me the most...the kitchen!  This time, however, I am not looking through a green lens at how to redesign the space; I am looking at this functionally green space and wondering how to use it in a sustainable way every day.  Those that know me well know that cooking is certainly not my forte nor is the art of grocery shopping, quite frankly up until this weekend, the mere thought of either made me cringe.

Over the past several years, there has been a growing interest in local food, consumers have more choices on where to shop, what to buy, and many of us are left wondering where to start, so I decided to find out.  What does it mean to be local?  How local is local?  Unlike organic standards which entail specific legal requirements and inspection processes local means different things to different people.

According to Sustainable.org, local food production might be thought of in concentric circles that start with growing food at home followed by growing in the community, next Province and so on and so forth.  Depending on the climate, especially in Canada, it may be possible to buy close to home, but at other times an expanded reach may be necessary.

Jessica Prentice, from the San Francisco Bay Area for World Environment Day 2005, coined a term that is used to describe and promote the practice of eating a diet that consists of food harvested from within an area bound by a 100 mile radius. People who value local as their primary food criterion are referred to as “locavores”.

Now that we've taken a look at what it means to be local, what about sustainability?  Sustainable agriculture involves health food production methods that meet the following criteria:

• do not harm the environment 
• respects workers
• are humane to animals
• provide fair wages to farmers
• and support farming communities

Sustainability includes buying food as locally as possible; however it is important to note that not all locally produced food is created equal.  When considering your local options, take the time to ask the vendor a few questions regarding how the animals were raised or if they know the name and location of the farm.

Locally, sustainable farming benefits the local community, local economy while respecting the natural environment by enriching the soil, protecting the air and water quality and minimizing energy consumption.  Globally, industrial food production is entirely dependent on fossil fuels which when refined and burned create greenhouse gasses that are significant contributors to climate change.   This however, is not the biggest problem with fossil fuels use in industrial farming, the biggest part of fossil fuel use in industrial farming is not transporting food or fueling machinery; it's chemicals. As much as forty percent of the energy used in the food system goes towards the production of chemical fertilizers and pesticides.[1] By adding transportation, processing and packaging to the food system equation, the fossil fuel and energy use of our current food system puts tremendous stress on the environment.

I have also complied a check list to help anyone else interested in jumping on the locavore train!

Sustainably Yours,
Brandelyn

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[1] Heller, Martin C., and Gregory A. Keoleian. "Life Cycle-Based Sustainability Indicators for Assessment of the U.S. Food System." Ann Arbor, MI: Center for Sustainable Systems, University of Michigan, 2000: 42.

Appendix A – The Locavore Checklist[1]
Commit to becoming a Locavore	Changing your diet is never easy but eating locally can be a rewarding and healthy experience. Try adding one seasonal local ingredient to your diet each week, or even better cook one meal per week using only local food. We've even seen people commit to an entire month or year of local eating. Become a locavore at your own pace!
Educate yourself	Become a member and/or a volunteer of Just Food by logging onto their website and signing up under the Get Involved section. They will keep you up to date with food events and issues in the Ottawa region. You can even invite Just Food to give a presentation at your community association, place of worship or workplace on local foods and the food system.
Shop at Farmer’s Markets	Ottawa's Farmers' Markets are growing. You will find wonderful varieties of local fruits, vegetables, meat, cheese, eggs, honey, maple syrup and more at farmers' markets throughout the season. Make it a weekly ritual to start your groceries at farmers' markets. You will get the freshest, tastiest foods available!
Grow Your Own	Learn how to grow your own food in backyards, community gardens, or even on your balcony. Polish your gardening skills by taking a Just Food & Canadian Organic Growers (Ottawa) vegetable gardening workshop in the spring. You can also download a free beginner gardening guide from our website. Think about starting a community garden in your neighbourhood.
Eat seasonally available items	Get to know when local food is available through this guide's seasonal calendar and by frequently visiting farmers' markets. Cook forward by planning your meals around what is seasonally available, rather than deciding on a recipe first and then going out to buy ingredients wherever you can find them. The first fresh cucumber of the season, from a field close to home, never tasted so good. Celebrate the special local flavours available at different times of the year.
Celebrate local agriculture	Support farmers and better understand the agricultural landscapes through the unique taste of the food that is grown here. Celebrate with local farmers at local food feasts, garlic festivals, strawberry socials, trips to the sugar bush, country farm fairs etc.
Support your local farmers and join their cause	Become a member of a farm connected to your community. Sign on for a season of vegetables and get creative while cooking the seasonal surprises each week. Through your commitment to a farm for a full growing season, you help ensure that small farms are viable and our farmers keep farming.
Buy in bulk and learn to preserve	Buy larger quantities of local food in season (whether meat, veggies or something else). It is more expensive to buy food in small quantities offseason – by buying in season you can stretch your dollar. By freezing, canning and dehydrating seasonal food you buy in bulk, you can include local foods in your diet the entire year.
Promote your favorite food outlets	As consumers get more interested in local foods, grocers, restaurants and institutions feel more incentive to provide what consumers want. Ask your local grocery store, workplace/school cafeteria and your favourite restaurants how they plan to integrate local foods onto their shelves and into their menus.

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[1] http://www.justfood.ca/buylocal/howtoeatlocal.php