The Local Food Movement Part I

Lately there have been many people preaching buy local! . There are many reasons for buying local, but the most prevalent logic is that buying local food helps the environment. Many people may support buying local for other reasons, supporting local farmers, or fresher produce are the other most common reasons.

Here's some information about groups promoting the Eat Local Movement
Eat Local Challenge
Local Harvest

You say: Hey, this sounds great. But what exactly is buying local? Does shopping at my grocery store count?

There is a lot of debate regarding what exactly local is, is local based on where it's grown or the total distance it has traveled from where it was grown, then processed, and sold? And then there is also defining the exact distance or area that one can consider local. Despite the problems in defining local, a general loose definition of local food is food which is grown (and/or processed) and sold nearby.

Many states have networks or groups of farmers and food processors. These groups can dovetail in with the local food movement; they are not formed specifically in response to the local food movement especially if you're interested in the environmental factor; but are definitely worth looking at if you'd like to support local businesses or growers. Pride of New York is an excellent example.

The Pride of New York Program was developed to promote and support the sale of agricultural products grown and food products processed within New York State

It might be more difficult to find businesses or locations in urban areas, however I've never had a problem finding farm markets. This summer in D.C., there were always at least 3 farmers markets a week. Farm markets are a great source of local products and fresh produce. Especially at the smaller farm markets, the produce is often picked the morning it is sold. Check here for a list of farm markets in your own state.

As far as the environmental aspect of the movement; the next part in this series will examine the factors which impact a local food's role in the environment, and whether buying locally really the positive impact on the environment it is purported to.