Word of the Year

Oxford University Press, the august group that authors the largest dictionary in the world, has announced their choice for Word of the Year for 2007. This year's word: locavore. What is it?

The “locavore” movement encourages consumers to buy from farmers’ markets or even to grow or pick their own food, arguing that fresh, local products are more nutritious and taste better. Locavores also shun supermarket offerings as an environmentally friendly measure, since shipping food over long distances often requires more fuel for transportation.

The blogsphere is buzzing about the choice -- see discussions at Britannica Blog as well as debates at New York Times and Boston Globe regarding the merits of the runner up choices.

Previous winners include podcast for 2005 and carbon neutral for 2006.