Yes, I’m a Palmettovore. I guess I’ve been one for a while and never knew it! In order to explain what it means, I need to go back a little in time.
There has been a movement in recent years, mostly in conjunction with getting us to live greener, encouraging people to eat locally grown foods. A new word was coined to describe people that go out of their way to consume locally grown – localvores or locavores.
There are a few good reasons to aspire to be a localvore. One is that we are supporting our local farmers, our neighbors. Two, is that we are reducing our carbon footprint on the earth by reducing a long chain of intervention from processors, manufacturers, shippers and retailers in getting our food to the table. Three, fresh local products are fresher, more nutritious and taste better.
Basically, a localvore encourages consumers to buy from farm markets or to produce their own food because it is better quality and environmentally friendly since supermarkets import foods using more fossil fuels and non-renewable sources.
Hugh Weathers, Commissioner of The South Carolina Department of Agriculture, says that South Carolinians spend $6 billion a year on food, yet everyone from every facet of the food business in South Carolina gets less than six percent of those dollars.
So, our Department of Agriculture has started a huge campaign to educate people of the benefits of “home grown” and to get everyone on board. When consumers see “Fresh on the Menu, Certified SC Grown” on a restaurant menu, they know that at least 25 percent of the product comes from South Carolina. We also see this sign on certain foods in grocery stores: “Certified South Carolina.” We see billboards that say “Locally Grown. It’s to dine for,” and “Nothing’s Fresher, Nothing’s Finer: Buy South Carolina.”
The latest is a video. My friend Randolph is in it. He is the ear of corn. You can watch it on You Tube. Yeah, I know, but please watch it for me.
