Going Locovor

Last year it was spinach, earlier this summer it was tomatoes, now it's jalapenos and every couple of months or so some type of beef product is being recalled. Eating is getting to be a pretty scary proposition.

It's also getting to be very expensive, partly because of the high price of gasoline, which drives up the cost of getting products from the Agro Business to your grocery store.

So what are we, the wary and cash strapped consumers to do?

Well, one option is to become a locovor. Yes, yet another word in the lexicon of ways to define yourself by what you eat.

Loosely speaking, locovors are people who strive to maintain a diet of food grown, raised and processed within a 120-250 mile radius of where they live.

My own conversion came after reading Barbara Kingsolver's book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle in which she details how she and her family spend a year intentionally eating only food produced on or from the area around their southern Appalachian farm.

Being the foodie that I am, I was aware that for quite a few years there had been a growing trend in the restaurant community of using locally grown ingredients, starting with Alice Waters at Chez Panisse in Berkley in the late 70's. Now there are countless restaurants that not only feature locally grown and produced foods, they also grow their own herbs and vegetable.

Local has replaced organic as the new buzzword in the world of food, and not just at restaurants. Farmers markets are becoming increasingly popular with consumers across the country.

Here in the Tucson area we have five farmers markets that I know of, including one sponsored by the Community Food Bank that accepts food stamps and WIC farmers market vouchers.

My favorite is the one held every Sunday morning at St. Phillips Plaza. This market features produce grown in and around the Tucson, Wilcox and Benson area as well as organic eggs, chicken, pork, lamb and beef. There are two coffee roasters, a tea blender, and several local bakers. One can purchase locally produced salsas, jams, pickles, hummus, dried beans, soup mixes, and even soap!

When you shop at a farmers market you are not only supporting the local economy, you are also interacting with the people who grow and produce your food, and it's a great way to meet and interact with members of your community.

Not wanting to miss out on the growing locovor trend, more and more chain stores are starting to offer locally grown produce. Even Wal-Mart, that bastion of middle class conservatism, is jumping on the trend. Earlier this month the world largest retailer became the country's largest purchaser of locally grown fruits and vegetables by buying produce from farms closest to it's distribution centers and distributing it within the state in which it is purchased.

Going local at a chain store does not have to stop with produce. After I decided to shop locally as much as possible I started checking labels and was surprised at how many items in my grocery store were produced in Arizona; eggs, dairy products, baked good, ice cream, potato chips, beer and of course, salsas, tamales and tortillas.

Of course, being a total locovor would be really tough for me. I am not crazy about Arizona wines, don't know of any local pasta makers or rice growers, and cheese making has not really taken off here in the desert either. But I have found that trying to shop as much as I can locally has made me think a lot more about what I am eating, and I am making a lot fewer impulse purchases, and thereby saving money and living a little healthier.

To find a farmers market close to you visit localharvest.org. To learn more about locovorism go to animalvegetablemiracle.com/