Go with the FLOW

I have not yet heard or seen the phrase or term used except jokingly by Sir Cakewalk. So I would like to now unofficially coin the term "F.L.O.W." If someone has already laid claim, I extend my apologies.

What is FLOW?

I'll get to that shortly, but first some personal info. I have been received a resurgence of inspiration from the book "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle." I have been listening to it on audio CD during my travels around the state this week. It has brought back some of the passion about food and food culture that I felt during my graduate studies. And while I have no intention of becoming as extreme as the author and denouncing all food that isn't produced within a certain radius of my home, I do want to include even more local and organic foods in my meals than I currently do and begin making some food at home, like bread and cheese.

I intend to post more about this topic, how it has inspired me, the controversies and debates it brings about (I know a lot about all angles of the arguments and do not think it is a simple cut and dry matter), my plans and goals, etc. But I will break it up into more manageable bites.

For now I will simply explain FLOW and give you the 2 second wikipedia explanation of each point....again, more to come in future postings.

F = Fair Trade
"Fair Trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach that aims to help producers in developing countries and promote sustainability."

L = Local
"The local food movement is a collaborative effort to build more locally based, self-reliant food economies - one in which sustainable food production, processing, distribution, and consumption is integrated to enhance the economic, environmental and social health of a particular place."

O = Organic
This definition will prove a bit tricky. And since most of you have a vague notion of what organic means, or should mean, I will leave it for later.

W = Whole Foods
This definition is also quite tricky. Many define whole foods as just the opposite of processed foods. But any food that has been altered via chopping, cooking, baking, milling, etc has been processed, technically speaking. That is, even frozen vegetables and homemade bread are "processed." The best definition I found stated that whole foods are fresh foods that have not been technologically altered or processed by any means other than those of standard cooking procedures. Or, I like to use another concept that I coined, featured in my thesis, the whole food/processed food continuum. This idea at least takes into consideration that some foods can be mildly processed but are still free from chemical additives or technological alterations and that some foods are just more processed than others.


Now, don't get upset or start worrying that you have to abandon all your current habits and eat with FLOW in order to be healthy. I simply want to start opening the discussion and sharing what I know about each of these concepts so that I can hopefully inspire you.