Local food
Buying local means purchasing food that is produced, grown, or raised close to your home. The industrialization and globalization of our food system means that food now travels an average of 1,300 miles from the farm to the table, raising concerns about the effect on the environment, rural communities, and food safety and quality.
Choosing local food is not always easy. What defines local? Is local food always the most sustainable? Is it better to buy a local food that is not organic, or an organic food from far away?
See the following resources for more information on local food:
Going to the Source: Why Buying Local Matters; Sound Consumer, June 2008.
Food-Miles and the Relative Climate Impacts of Food Choices in the United States; Environmental Science & Technology, 2008.
Local? Organic? What’s a Consumer to Do?; Sound Consumer, June 2007.
Local Food — Adventures in Eating Regionally; Sound Consumer, October 2004.
Is Eating Local The Best Choice?; Alternet, 2007.
DEFRA Report: The Validity of Food Miles as an Indicator of Sustainable Development (PDF); July 2005.
Food, Fuel, and Freeways: An Iowa Perspective on How Far Food Travels, Fuel Usage, and Greenhouse Gas Emissions; Leopold Center, June 2001.