America loves to specialize its movements.

Some people swear by local food.  Others argue for durable local economies.  Still others see worker’s rights as the most important call to action.

And there’s little wrong with this natural evolution of American thought…just as long as we recognize that at some point, in order to realize the full potential of ANY these individual movements, they really should be integrated.  Otherwise, many of these movements could easily be phased into the very global, industrialized system they each once shunned.

Food writer Corby Kummer’s latest article in The Atlantic, is just another example of this kind of specialized focus. The piece documents his discovery of quality organic selections at a nearby Wal-Mart Supercenter, and the resulting internal struggle to contemplate Wal-Mart as a competitor of Whole Foods.

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Carlo Petrini is such a great public speaker that he easily overcomes the need to have a translator on stage with him. If you haven’t encountered Petrini before, the clip above will give you an idea of   what I mean.

The Italian founder of the Slow Food movement – who is also scheduled to give the keynote at this year’s Georgia Organics Conference the previous evening – will be part of a faculty panel and discussion session at Emory on Monday, February 22nd entitled “Food, Family and the Family Meal.”  Other featured speakers include the CDC’s Joel Kimmons and Emory Psychology Professor Marshall Duke.

The event is open to the public and will take place from 4pm-6pm at 1531 Dickey Drive on the Emory Campus.  Petrini will be on hand to sign books post-discussion.

h/t: Clairmont Heights

Locavores and slow food proponents will really get a kick out of Watershed chef Scott Peacock’s write up about growing up with field peas in his native Alabama in this morning’s AJC.

Thanks to books like Pollen’s Omnivore’s Dilemma and Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, along with recent extensive coverage by the NY Times, the local/slow food movement has really taken off in the past year or so. It goes a step further than just simply eating “organic”, which some strict locavores will tell you has been co-oped by the “industrial food chain” (another basic principal of the movement), and encourages people to buy locally (to reduce the food’s carbon footprint and support the local economy) and eat “real food”…(as opposed to anything processed…80% of which is made mainly of corn and soybeans).

Pollen’s follow up to The Omnivore’s Dilemma, In Defense of Food, sums up the diet of a locavore this way “Eat Food. Not Too Much. Mostly Plants.”

If it sounds like I’ve signed on to this latest “fad”, I have. It ain’t an easy way to eat, especially for those of us stretched to find the time to dedicate to finding and cooking food, but its the first book I’ve read about “food” in a long time that made any sense and didn’t come off like it had an ulterior motive.

Essentially, it boils down to…eat real food, not processed. That means eating a little meat that eats grass preferably (not force-fed corn), and lots of plants (fruits/veggies), preferably organic and local. Not easy…but it tastes so much better…and is so much healthier.

Locally, the Decatur Organic Farmer’s Market is a great resource to grab these products. Also the DeKalb Farmer’s Market has grass-fed beef and sells a lot of organic produce (and is very good about telling you where it came from).

But still, I gotta tell you, even for a Decatur resident with two great resources, it ain’t all that easy. Any locavores out there with any additional tips?