Food, Defined.

LOCAVORE: A person who only eats locally grown or produced food. Someone who makes an effort to shop at farmers markets, where the food is locally brought in from nearby farms would be considered a locavore. Being a locavore would mean that you are supporting the local, smaller farmers rather than big corporations that sell food products in huge bulk. Locavores also think that the locally grown food is fresher, tastes better and is healthier than eating foods that have been covered in pesticides. If you want to become a locavore, there is an iphone App that finds you local in season food. More info. on Locavores here

 SLOW FOOD: Slow food is the movement away from fast food and towards enjoying what you eat at a slower pace than the hectic every day lives that many people have. People today are obsessed with speed and efficiency, and slow food is the opposite. It’s about taking in a whole meal at your own pace, savoring every bite. Slow Food Movement is growing all over the world, and it is trying to educate people about how fast food is bad for you, and it encourages shopping locally.

POLEMIC: As defined, polemic is an argument or an opposition to an opinion. Polemic food would be an argument against what you are eating. Food is mis-labeled all the time. Seeing food advertised as natural or organic is usually not fully true. For example you might read that a certain food will lower your cholesterol but in fact you would need to eat an obscene amount for that claim to be true. Polemic defined here

ORGANIC FOOD: Organic food limits the use of artificial materials during the production of it. Organic food uses natural fertilizers such as manure, as opposed to chemical fertilizers that conventional foods use. Animals are also fed organic feed and are able to graze, instead of conventional livestock that gets antibiotics of growth hormones. Many people prefer organic food, especially today because they think it is healthier, and in many cases this is true. Cattle raised on an organic farm are typically leaner, better cuts of meat for eating than conventional growth hormone infested animals. More info on what organic really is here

NATURAL FOODS: Food labeled as natural does not contain any artificial ingredients, coloring, or chemical preservatives. With meat, it is minimally processed. Labels can claim a food is natural, when in fact it may not be what the consumer thinks is natural. For example, a label can claim that a food is “natural” even though animals can technically be treated with artificial hormones and still have the “natural” label. It can certainly be deceiving, and people looking for the cleanest food would probably look to Organic over natural, since the guidelines are more precise with organic food, since it really doesn’t use artificial material in the food. Extra Information on “natural food”