May 1, 2009 8:35 pm US/Central
Green 'Localvores' Eat Locally Produced Foods
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
They say if every family ate like they did one meal a week, the U.S. could cut back its oil consumption by 4 million barrels a month.
They're Chicagoans dedicated to serving up primarily locally produced foods. CBS 2's Vince Gerasole introduces us the "localvores."
There's a name for people like Robert Gardner, sniffing sprouts here at the farmer's market.
They're on a mission to hunt down and eat primarily locally produced foods and save the environment.
"The things that are important to me we are able to achieve by eating local," Gardner said.
You can call Gardner a localvore, maybe a locatarian, and perhaps even an ethical eater.
To feed his family, Gardner stores several months' worth of Michigan apples, and varied root vegetables in his cool attic space.
Midwestern tomatoes were canned back in season. The kitchen brims with local maple syrup, colorful dried peppers and even meats from local farms.
There's even meat from a local pig.
All these efforts are connected to saving oil -- petroleum oil.
Think of it. Oil used for farming machines -- and then the transport of food products often from coast to coast. Petroleum also fuels the plants that package our food. Localvores estimate it adds up to 17 percent of the nation's energy use.
From canned pumpkin to Milwaukee root beer, owner Cassie Green personally selects the hyper-local products at her green grocer.
Local can mean different things to different people. Perhaps its food found within 100 miles of Chicago or maybe any Midwestern state. A sweet "local cookie" can contain items impossible to produce in the Midwest, and that's OK.
At three separate urban greenhouses, Windy City Harvest grows food year-round for stores and restaurants. The fruits of their labor, so to speak, are in increasing demand.
"We really can't keep up, we need more land," Angela Mason said.
At roughly $400 dollars a month, the Gardners insist their food budget hasn't changed since going local -- a lifestyle serving up a greener planet, thanks to what's on their plate.
Those eating local estimate the average item on our dinner plates has traveled some 1,500 miles to reach our tables.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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