The Oxford Dictionary Word of the Year is ‘locavore

Locavore – local resident who tries to eat only food grown or produced within a 100-mile radius.

At first blush, the reaction may be ‘who cares’? But if attracting job-producing progressive, creative, entrepreneurial people to your city is important it may be worth noting…

– Fewer companies have created more jobs in a shorter period of time than Google. So what do they name their 4000-employee cafeteria? 150, representing that its ingredients will come from within a 150-mile radius.

Elements, the green, vegetarian restaurant being crowdsourced via beta community in Washington DC, is committed to being as locavore-oriented as possible.

Farmers and public markets, long focused on locally grown produce, are an institution in the most entrepreneurial, creative neighborhoods, and ever increasing in popularity. Read more here.

– The Slow Food movement sweeping many countries, “dedicated to the mingling of taste, culture and the environment” in a relaxed atmosphere. Who doesn’t want more of that? Where would you find this? In a Slow City of course.

– Finally, this is the Oxford Dictionary we’re talking about, founded in the 1800s, not Wired Magazine, so you know their Word of the Year is not like a passing fad or anything, “The word ‘locavore’ shows how food-lovers can enjoy what they eat while still appreciating the impact they have on the environment. It’s significant in that it brings together eating and ecology in a new way.”

Image source: DougHumphries

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