n this day and age, vegetarianism has become as ubiquitous as the iPod and as countercultural as Dashboard. Many of you are probably familiar with its subsets as well – lacto-ovo, fruitarianism, veganism, and my favourite, Starbucksism. But there’s a new dietary trend on the rise that is sure to soon be embraced by Birkenstock-wearing hippies and fad-loving celebs alike.

Meet the locavore. Theirs is a diet that doesn’t restrict them from juicy steaks or cream in their coffee. The locavore can – and will – eat it all, so long as it comes from local farms and markets within a 100 mile radius. Altruistic to the core, the locavore is able to experience a full range of benefits by eating this way. Taste buds enjoy fresher ingredients that are packed with more flavour. Farmers enjoy more business from their local community. And last but never least, the entire practice is environmentally friendly as food travels a shorter distance and reduces our ecological footprint – after all, green is the new black.

Few know that the average vegetable travels over 3,000 miles and spends a year in near-freezing storage vessels before being placed on the shelves of your supermarket.

The locavore movement seems like it will be more than a flash in the pan. The Oxford English Dictionary designated it the Word of the Year for 2007, officially adding it to the dictionary after two years of silent existence among ecophiles. It has already been adopted on many campuses across North America, particularly at head-of-the-pack Yale, where students run an organic farm that provides produce for student functions and a local New Haven restaurant.

Few know that the average vegetable travels over 3,000 miles and spends a year in near-freezing storage vessels before being placed on the shelves of your supermarket.
By this time, many of the beneficial antioxidants and scurvy-defending Vitamin C we all love has degraded severely – in some cases up to 77 percent.