Eat a 100% Local Meal Each Week

A Fresh and Healthy Way to Eat and Combat Global Warming

30 Days to Green Your Diet - Eat locally grown foods as part of a healthier diet plan.

Photo: D. Fischer and P. Lyons/Cole Group / Getty Images

By Deborah Barrow

30 Days to a Greener Diet - Day 9

You know that saying, Think global but eat local?

You will. Because in a world where global warming concerns are intersecting with doubts about the freshness and sustainability of foods shipped thousands of miles, being a localtarian (local + “tarian,” as in “vegetarian”) is practically a religion among the foodies, and it's a trend that is on the rise among us normal people, too.

In fact, this year, the New Oxford American Dictionary called “locavore” (local + “vore,” as in “carnivore”) the hottest word of 2007. In other words, the new idea called "the 100 mile diet," where green eaters try to get most of the foods they eat from sources found within 100 miles of their homes, is definitely here and here to stay.

Eating food grown or crafted for you within a 100 to a few hundred miles of your home reduces your food miles (the miles and energy it takes to ship it to your plate), which is very earth friendly. But by eating locally you’re also helping to support the kinds of family farms that grow the delicious, sustainable, compassionately raised foods you’re looking for when embracing a greener diet. It’s a healthy way to eat, and it helps support local economies as your food dollars stay in your community.

How to be a localtarian? See our ecopedia listing for a quick take. Pick up Plenty, the Hundred Mile Diet, a book by TheDailyGreen bloggers James MacKinnon and Alisa Smith for the full story. And, to find local resources near you, go to our Get Started box on our homepage, plug in your zip code, and go!

Think what would happen if everyone, like you, ate at least one 100% local meal a week. We’d all be very green.