The local food movement is tied together with some of the most emotional issues of the new century. Although it has some critics, it also has some dedicated and ardent supporters.
The idea behind Local Food is rather complicated although it might appear simple at first. It says that food produced in a local area is better for consumption by local residents for a variety of reasons. These reasons range from economic to environmental to political. The movement has grown from rather modest beginnings to become a highly controversial alternative to an increasingly global economy.
Local Food has sometimes been called food patriotism because of the belief that the purchase and consumption of food that is produced in a particular region has economic and cultural benefits to the inhabitants of that region. It is thought that there are even nutritional benefits that can be gained by consumption of local foods. The idea is that the soil and climate of the local region would be capable of producing foods that are more beneficial to people that have been raised on that soil and in that climate.
Some critics of Local Food argue that, in most cases, it is more expensive than the processed foods available via massive national and even international distribution systems. Local food advocates counter that this view is very narrow and does not take into consideration the total costs associated with the production and distribution of food. These additional costs include environmental costs of the fossil fuels burned to transport the prepared foods over the thousands of miles of the distribution network. Local food supporters claim that judging cost by merely looking at the price tag at the point of sale is totally missing the big picture.
Local Food also benefits the local economy. It provides income and jobs for people in the local region and this translates into benefits that go beyond the simple grocery bill. It also encourages the preservation of regional diversity in foods and the cultural identity of cuisine. Local food is often associated with organic growing techniques and humane treatment of livestock as opposed to large and impersonal corporate giants producing food without concern to either humane methods or the most healthy production standards.
What helps make Local Food such a big deal with so many people is that the actual definition of local differs from person to person and group to group. To some people, local might be the local community while to others it is a more regional definition. The decision to buy only food produced in one's own country would be accepted as a local food decision regardless of the relative size of the country.
Aazdak Alisimio writes
local food articles for LocalFoodCompanies.com.
