Eat local movement
The "Eat Local Movement" is a grassroots initiative focused on fostering self-reliant local food economies by promoting the consumption of foods produced within a specified local radius, typically around 160 kilometers (100 miles). Advocates, often referred to as locavores, believe that eating locally can enhance both social and economic well-being while also benefiting the environment. By purchasing local foods, supporters aim to reduce the carbon footprint associated with long-distance food transportation, which they note averages over 3,200 kilometers (2,000 miles) for an average American meal.
Proponents emphasize the importance of sustainable agricultural practices, encouraging consumers to choose foods from small farms that prioritize organic methods and humane treatment of animals. The movement is closely tied to the rise of farmers' markets, community-supported agriculture (CSA) systems, and the farm-to-table approach, all of which strive to connect consumers more directly with their food sources. Additionally, advocates often highlight the health benefits of locally sourced foods, which tend to be fresher and richer in nutrients compared to items that have been transported over long distances.
However, the movement is not without its critics, who question whether the environmental benefits of local eating outweigh the potential costs of agricultural practices. Thus, discussions around the efficacy and sustainability of the Eat Local Movement continue, reflecting a broader dialogue about food systems and environmental impacts.
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Eat local movement
IDENTIFICATION: Movement devoted to building locally based, self-reliant food economies in which sustainable food production, processing, distribution, and consumption are integrated
Proponents of the eat local movement assert that by buying and eating only locally grown or produced foods, people can enhance social and economic health while at the same time providing benefits to the environment, such as by supporting small farmers who employ organic and sustainable agricultural practices.
One goal of the eat local movement is to reduce the carbon footprint of food by reducing the amount of energy it takes to get food from the field to the plate. According to proponents of the movement (often called locavores), the food in an average American meal travels at least 3,200 kilometers (2,000 miles) from its sources to the consumer. Those who endorse the practice of eating locally encourage people to eat only foods that are grown or produced near where they live. This, locavores assert, serves to keep people in better touch with the earth and the seasons and provides a connection between farm and table, reduces the of the food, sustains local economies, and encourages consumption of high-quality foods. Proponents of the movement generally seek out food that is grown in ways that are healthy, that respect the and those who work in the food-growing industry, and that is humane to animals. Although no single definition of “local” has been established, many proponents of the eat local movement suggest that people should buy and eat only those foods that are grown or produced within a radius of roughly 160 kilometers (100 miles) of where they live.
“Local food” includes food grown in one’s own garden and food produced on local farms or by local community-supported agriculture (CSA) systems. In addition to reducing the expenditure of energy on shipping and other means of transporting food, the eat local movement is concerned with sustainable agriculture. Buying and eating locally grown foods supports local small farms, many of which raise crops, maintain dairy cattle, and raise livestock for food according to the principles of farming, without using chemical fertilizers or pesticides and without the hormones or antibiotics often used by large food producers. Locavores point to fresher, better-tasting, lower-cost produce with higher amounts of vitamins and other healthy compounds that are lost when fruits and vegetables are picked green for shipping or are handled extensively before they reach the consumer. Locavores also note that cutting out the middlemen—the large food suppliers—means that local farmers receive a larger percentage of each dollar spent on food.
Often, eat local and CSA farms offer classes or other kinds of instruction on buying local foods in bulk during their peak season and preserving them for later use, such as by canning or drying; many also provide recipes that focus on the locally grown foods in their own areas. Eat local and CSA communities also generally encourage members and others to patronize restaurants that feature local foods that are in season. Closely related to the eat local movement is the drastic increase in the number of farmers' markets in the United States, the farm-to-table movement, the Slow Food movement, and an increase in interest in urban gardening. These initiatives abide by the same ideals as the eat local movement.
Detractors of the eat local movement have noted that although eating locally may save energy by cutting down on the transportation of food, the overall environmental costs of growing food can remain quite high. Is it more environmentally friendly, for example, to grow fruits and vegetables outdoors in a sunny environment and then ship them to a store in another area than it is to use electricity and other energy sources to grow the same kinds of produce in greenhouses in less naturally sunny environments and then sell them locally? Debate on such issues is ongoing.
Bibliography
Bendrick, Lou. Eat Where You Live: How to Find and Enjoy Fantastic Local and Sustainable Food No Matter Where You Live. Seattle: Skipstone Press, 2008.
Nabhan, Gary Paul. Coming Home to Eat: The Pleasures and Politics of Local Food. New York: W. W. Norton, 2009. Omolo, Morrine. "Food Safety Culture and the Local Food Movement." Food Safety Magazine, 13 Feb. 2024, www.food-safety.com/articles/9249-food-safety-culture-and-the-local-food-movement. Accessed 16 July 2024.
Pollan, Michael. The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. New York: Penguin Press, 2007.
Rosane, Olivia. "Local Food Movement: Everything You Need to Know." EcoWatch, 5 Sept. 2022, www.ecowatch.com/local-food-movement-facts.html. Accessed 16 July 2024.