Healthy Recipes / Nutrition Information
Stacy Beeson, RD, LD
St Luke’s Health Solutions Registered Dietitian
Nutrition Segment from
April 21, 2008 Channel 7's Noon Show
Looking into Being a Localvore
Do you know what being a localvore is? A new movement in eating is consuming food that is grown close to home. Localvores are people committed to eating foods grown near their area of residence. Many people try to eat food that has been grown within a 50, 100 or 150 mile radius.
We all used to produce our own food right out our backdoors. It makes sense that the country is starting to focus on going back to those ideas. From individuals to grocery stores to business owners, many people are looking to purchase food grown within their area of living.
BENEFITS:
Eating locally grown food has three main benefits:
- Environment: Food grown close to home travels less distance so uses less fuel. Locally grown food usually comes from a small-scale farm that uses organic methods of farming.
- Community: Purchasing locally grown food is one of the best ways to invest in your community.
- Health: Knowing where your food comes from is an important part of taking care of your body. Food grown in an organic way means healthier water, air and soil.
LOOK INTO IT:
Here are some ways to get you starting on looking into being a localvore:
- Start looking at the products you purchase in the regular grocery stores, and see where they are grown.
- Visit the farmers market in your town and ask the farmers about their crops, fields and lifestyle.
- Investigate Community Supported Agriculture farms in your area. You can buy shares in this program and receive fresh-picked produce the entire summer.
- If you are looking for a good read, try Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver for starters.
- Visit the Co-Op and look for yellow signs in the produce section which indicate Idaho-grown. Look also for the Idaho preferred symbol which means Idaho food and agriculture products.
