Locally grown food

[Sal Atticum]

What's better for the environment--food that is grown locally, or food that is not grown locally?

Here is an argument against what the author calls the "sacred cow" of locally grown food.

Here is a critique of the first post.

The second question is, should we care, and why?

Many people who are anti "green" based on the what they claim is the annoyingly smug attitude of the "greenies" would say that if it's cheaper to import all of our food, that's what we should do, because economics trumps any sort of attitude about what effects we are having on anything else.

Others (like myself), who find the "green revolution" something of a fad and don't want to jump on the bandwagon for the sake of jumping on the bandwagon, would put forth the idea that keeping things local that can be kept local is good for everyone once it gets to a certain point.  Economically it creates local jobs and keeps money in the community; socially it ties everyone together because you theoretically could be bowling buddies with the guy who slaughters the cow for your burger or grows the lettuce that goes on top, or in a less agricultural sense, you might stop on the street the woman who designs the website for your company.  Philosophically, I would argue that if this type of commitment towards keeping things local were done without creating a xenophobic view of the 'outside world', it would create healthier communities (even those numbering several tens of thousands).

Of course, in northern climes like North and South Dakota, we can't grow everything locally and we can't produce everything locally--the growing season is short, and we need to eat during the winter.  The competition from outside the local area is fierce, especially due to the cheapness (both in monetary and quality terms) of goods you can get at WalMart and other multinational stores.  So a balance can be set somewhere, but only if people are willing to sacrifice some percentage of monetary savings now (because growing a local business tends to cost more than just buying your goods at WalMart) in order to reap societal benefits later.  This is actually the same argument I have for taxes; yes, I am perfectly willing to pay taxes to the government in order to have benefits such as roads, police, firefighters, and (gasp) the military. 

So getting back to the concept of local food.  You can tell where I stand, but what about you?

[pmp6nl]

Personally I try to shop locally if I can and I try to avoid the big companies like Wal-mart, especially Wal-mart because I dont like their business practices.  Anyway, I agree that there are some social and other qualities that can be gained from such business, while not always economically the best bet (of course it all depends) it does have other benefits.. like those you mentioned.  Look at the dynamics in many small towns, they are different than what you see in larger communities.  Of course some would argue that there is a reason people are leaving small towns, but thats for other reasons and another discussion.

I like the idea of having both options, but maybe putting a little more emphasis on staying locally.  This is a growing trend right now, keeping money in the community.  I recently headed home to Iowa to visit family and there is a huge push to keep money locally, there are ads and a huge number of coupons in the paper to get people to eat at local establishments etc, rather than just at national chains.

Additionally, communities in the Red River Valley are really stepping it up with the whole Invest in Your Valley campaign. I dont know how successful it all is, but I dont see it producing ill effects.

Well that was kinda a random response.  But in summation I do like the idea of staying locally if you can, and I for one will spend a little more to say buy produce at a farmer's market than at a grocery store.

[Sal Atticum]

The original post was not particularly coherent, so you're okay for giving a random response.

There are certainly aspects of small towns that I don't enjoy: everyone knowing what everyone else is doing, not being able to get everything right there in town (and having to drive to a larger town), etc.