When I was a kid we- like many folks with a patch of land - grew most of our vegetables. We had chickens that lay more than enough eggs for our six-person family. In the summers in New Hampshire, we frequented family farms for produce and dairy. We shopped farm stands along rural roads, and picked apples at orchards in the fall. Later, when we'd moved to West, my family raised cattle and chickens, and continued growing our own veggies. We didn't call ourselves locavore, this was just the way we, and a multitude of people, actually ate.
One only needs to look back one or two generations to see that the "trend" towards eating local foods has always been a constant. And while, to the larger public and marketers, it may look like a trend it's really a return to simple, healthy and traditional farm-grown.
Eating local - farm to table- is a way of life that comes naturally to people in the countryside and takes a little more more work for people in suburbs and cities. But, even there, it's not impossible to be a locavore.
In Gourmet News, a front page story by Lorrie Baumann, says that grocers have more locavore options in their stores due to increased costumer demand. Grocers also say labels such as local and certified organic don't scare away consumers even if the price is higher.
In fact, a new study from global management consulting firm A. T. Kearney finds that a strong majority of U.S. consumers will pay a premium to buy local foods and nearly half say they'll take their business elsewhere if a business doesn't offer them.
But local foods do not necessarily have to cost more. Without overhead and staff to hire, pay taxes or health care for, farmers who sell directly to the consumer can actually charge less for the higher quality item. It's about demand and support from the consumer. And fair play from the FDA and state governments, as well as local activism: the Local Food Alliance, Idaho's Bounty the Sun Valley Institute for Resilience, the Wood River Sustainability Center and, of course, NourishMe.
Consider this: The numbers of farmer's markets grew 180 percent from 2006 to 2014.
Customers are interested in local food, as much for the superior quality and taste as for the ability to support family-farmers, to know the source of their food and have a smaller carbon footprint.
As well, because of lack of pesticides, GMOs hormones and additives, local foods are healthier for the consumer, translating into less trips to the doctor and/or missed work days.
Being locavore just feels right. Because it is.
--DD
