It’s been called the ‘new organic’ and the fact that it’s the latest trend in ethical eating is somewhat ironic, when you consider that it’s merely eating the way our ancestors once did. The term ‘locavore’ was coined in 2005 by chef and author Jessica Prentice on World Environment Day 2005 to describe and promote the practice of eating a diet consisting of food harvested from within a 100-mile radius (160 kilometres) from where you live.

In the same year, journalists Alisa Smith and James (J.B.) MacKinnon became the heroes of aspiring locavores everywhere when the couple began a yearlong experiment in local eating. The end result was the book, The 100-Mile Diet: A Year of Eating Locally, which struck a chord with ethical eaters everywhere, inspiring thousands of people to change the way they eat.

In addition to the obvious environmental benefit of reducing the fossil fuel use associated with long-distance transportation of food, buying local food benefits local producers and therefore your community. It’s also more in tune with the seasons, healthier, and simply tastes better.

“The thing about sourcing local produce [is] that every cent we spend goes back into the region, so it’s a very community based concept,” says Chris March, from The Locavore restaurant in Adelaide Hills, South Australia. March and co-owner Nathan Crudden source as much of their produce from their local region as possible.

“If it’s not from within 100 miles, then it has to come from a family business or family farm. If not, then it has to be organic. If not organic, then it has to be fair trade,” March explains.

March emphasises the importance of not getting too hung up on the 100-Mile rule, but instead focusing on the philosophy behind it. “It’s not just about drawing the line at 100 miles and not straying from it. If you stick to it too hard and fast you can actually lose some of the benefits,” he says.

“For example, our local flour mill couldn’t guarantee the flour would come from within 100 miles. So I asked for organic but because of the drought the only organic flour available is from overseas. I don’t think that meets our ethos, so I’m willing to accept flour from a family-owned mill instead. It’s more about going through the process and asking the questions.”

After running a story on Melbourne’s (now defunct) 100-Mile Café, editorial staff at Queensland-based map magazine decided to try the 100-Mile Diet for 30 days.

“We loved the idea of challenging the politics of consumerism, while supporting local farmers and reducing our food miles,” says editorial assistant Alice Muhling.

“In the early days of the diet, we had no trouble sourcing local fruit and vegetables but faced the challenge of making an interesting meal out of them. My diet in the first week consisted mainly of steamed vegetables, which was fairly bland. However, as we gradually sourced more local foods, spices and ingredients, the process got easier.”

“While I haven’t committed to becoming a permanent locavore, I am more aware of what I buy and consume, and have learnt to incorporate local eating habits into my lifestyle,” says Muhling. “I think the trick is to enjoy the education process. Concentrate on what you can eat – rather than what you can’t – and it will make for a better adventure.”

Get Started

Find out what local means for you
Map out what area your own 100-Mile radius encompasses with the 100-Mile Diet map. Don’t make things too hard for yourself by being too pedantic. Instead, use the tool as a guide to determine what you consider reasonably local and make a list of areas that you consider acceptable to source food from.

Do some research first
“It’s not the sort of thing you should do on a whim,” says March. “You need to be a bit prepared and do some research before you start. But what you will discover is that you’ll learn a lot more about your local area by driving down roads and talking to people. They’ll tell you the bacon comes from Kanmantoo. Well, then you’ll need to know where Kanmantoo is. That’s part of the fun.”

Ease into it
Don’t overwhelm yourself by going from zero to 100. Start introducing local produce into your diet gradually and stock up your pantry with locally sourced ingredients.

Adapt and experiment
“Depending how good a cook you are you may need to learn some new cooking skills,” says March. “Typically, you look at a recipe and then get the ingredients, but if you’re a locavore you’ll have to find the ingredients first and then cook with them. If all you’ve ever cooked is snags and mash then you may be in trouble.”

Change how you shop
“As a business we’ve had to go out and develop relationships with producers [but] the home locavore can develop those too by going to farmers’ markets and asking the local greengrocer and butcher where their produce comes from. It just means that you don’t just shop at large supermarkets,” says March.

Plan ahead
“You’ll find you need to plan ahead more and locavores often preserve things. Or, say you find a big box of ripe local tomatoes; it makes sense to make a big batch of tomato sauce and freeze or bottle it,” says March.

Be open to new flavours
“Part of the satisfaction comes from finding alternative local produce,” March says. “For example, we have a gentleman up the road who grows native pepperberry, so we use that instead of pepper that comes from a long way away. It’s not the same flavour but it’s great in its own right.”

Don’t be too rigid
“It’s not about being 100 percent locavore, but about passing those principles through everything you eat and drink,” says March. “If 99 per cent comes through then you’ve made a difference and I don’t think you need to get hung up on the other one percent if you feel like a piece of chocolate.”