Can Local Go the Distance?
The demand for local food is increasing, but when it comes to making a sizable contribution to the dinner table, can local go the distance?
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| Fresh produce at a local farmers' market in Mich. |
Forget organic. Local is the new buzz word on the lips of consumers these days.
The organic movement made its claim to fame by shoving into the public limelight scary terms like pesticides, insecticides and factory farms—terms that relate to production. Now the local food movement is making its big debut by focusing on distribution problems.
Between 1990 and 2004, organic food saw a 20 percent annual growth in sales, according to the Organic Trade Association, an industry group. Food producers and retailers quickly took notice–signing up organic farmers by the dozens and stocking their shelves with organic food. Even the U.S. Department of Agriculture got on board—creating a certification system in 2002 that defined organic food and made it easy for consumers to identify it.
Is the concept of local food the next big thing to hit the mainstream?
Like organic, local is a label that helps consumers make decisions about health and the environment. Choosing to eat organic food can be a personal decision, but the decision to eat local food is more social; it’s about how close consumers live to the farmers who produce their food.
Why local?
The benefits reaped from local food depend on the definition, which is elusive. For some, local food means shaking hands with the person who picked the food. For others, it means eating food from a specific state or region. Whatever the definition, there are both environmental and societal perks to getting food locally:
• Decreases fuel consumption: A 2003 study in Iowa found that the average distance that food travels from farm to plate is 1,494 miles, excluding imports. Locally-sourced foods travel only 56 miles on average. Limiting food miles decreases pollution because most produce travels by diesel truck—a contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. Mike Hamm, a professor of sustainable agriculture at Michigan State University, points out that now is the perfect time for Americans to switch to local food as fuel prices make imported food increasingly more expensive.
• Increases food security: The U.S. imports about 20 percent of its produce, according to the USDA. Though importing has allowed a greater variety of foods year-round, relying on other countries to supply a fifth of its food makes the U.S. subject to variations in oil prices, politics and water sources—all things that can change. Imported food is also produced under different environmental and labor standards, said Andy Fisher, director of the Community Food Security Coalition, an organization dedicated to building local food systems. “If the U.S. is dependent on other countries, it is simply not food secure,” said Fisher.
• Keeps dollars local: In 2004, Americans spent $244 per household on produce, according to the USDA. If consumers spent more of that money in their own towns or states, it could positively impact the local economy. When farmers sell directly to consumers, they receive 90 cents on the dollar, as opposed to 30 cents on the dollar by selling to distributors or processors, said Hamm.
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| Tokens used at the Allen Street Market in Lansing. Shoppers can use market money in place of food stamps and credit cards. |
In addition, consumers may have more control over how their food is grown if production is local. Though local food doesn’t necessarily have to be organic or from a small farm, those might become considerations if local food takes hold.
Thinking Big
With the demand for local food increasing, the question becomes: Can the supply of local food meet the demand? Though many big-box retailers have made the switch to organic produce and meat, could chains like Wal-mart stock local food? The answer is “yes,” but not without some difficulties.
For one, if large distributors and retailers are taken into account when thinking about local food, problems arise due to the way food is gathered and distributed.
“When we pick up from growers in Iowa and California, we’ve already got consolidation points in place,” said Tim Hogan, manager for a local-food-buying program at Sysco in Albuquerque, N.M. Without these consolidation points—places where farmers bring produce to be loaded onto long-haul trucks—the dirt roads that lead to most local growers make it difficult for the large company to efficiently gather produce.
One way to solve this problem is to have local farmers drive in shipments of their produce when the stores call for it, a practice that the Midwest chain Meijer has implemented in Michigan. Meijer maintains three parallel purchasing and distribution systems for three types of produce: local (within the nearest five states), domestic and international.
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| Fresh rasberries from a Michigan farm found at the Allen Street Market in Mich. |
Besides lack of easy access, a large concern for both Meijer and Sysco when sourcing local food is the quality of produce, particularly freshness. A commonly cited reason for buying products from different parts of the world is the limits of the local growing season. Mark Carlson, a food buyer for Meijer, describes the situation in terms of Michigan apples. “Before the global market was established the only option was to store apples, and to try to make them last between seasons,” he said. The routine solution is to move on to a supplier from a different region after the end of the local season.
Though farmers are trying out new techniques to make more local food available for longer periods of the season, Mother Nature will always have its limitations. For now, if consumers demand quality, freshness and local sourcing all at the same time, they may have to look a little harder.
The search for local food, even during wintry months, is not impossible. One outlet for local food, community-supported agriculture or CSA systems, are on the rise. In these systems, people buy a subscription from a local farm, which gets them a weekly supply of seasonal fruits and vegetables. Community members are risking the weather along with farmers, but they’re also helping ensure a local food supply. There are more than 1,000 CSA systems in the U.S., according to Local Harvest, a site that connects CSA systems with consumers across the country.
Farmers’ markets are another possibility for the local food connoisseur. Between 2004 and 2006, the number of farmers’ markets in the U.S. rose to 4,385, an 18 percent increase, according to the USDA.
This sudden increase can be attributed, in part, to consumers’ interest in buying fresh produce over frozen. According to a University of Colorado study, 30 percent of the 1,549 respondents preferred fresh produce. That’s good news for farmers, according to Hamm, because Michigan farmers get the most for their harvest when they sell directly to consumers.
Co-ops are another alternative for local food buyers. They are businesses owned and controlled by customers. The economic benefits of co-ops are returned to the members, reinvested in the business or used to provide member services. Since co-ops are community-oriented, they often try to buy from local food sources.
The East Lansing Food Co-op in Michigan stocks food from local producers. The store is open seven days a week, providing more convenient access than the limited hours of farmers’ markets and CSAs.
“During the summer we’re a nice complement to the CSA, and in the winter we fill the void when they’re not operating,” said Dave Finet, general manager of the co-op.
Finet is well aware of the seasonality of local produce, pointing out that finding only locally-sourced food is far from easy, despite the fact that the store has been locally sourcing products for more than 30 years. Brownies processed in nearby Ann Arbor is an example, he says. They contain milk, eggs and flour from the area, but the chocolate has to come from a tropical climate. Though the goal is to provide as much locally-sourced food as possible, when it’s nearly impossible, they look at the broader picture that encompasses supporting communities with jobs and good working conditions, Finet said.
A Renewed Appreciation
Lawmakers are noticing the increasing interest in local foods. The 2002 farm bill mandated country of origin labeling for meat and produce. Though not exactly a “local food label,” the law is a step in that direction.
Meanwhile, all this interest in local food creates understanding and awareness about where food comes from and the impact of getting it from the farm to the dinner plate.
“Folks are starting to understand how complex the food system is,” said Finet.
Sarah Crespi is a second-year master's student in the environmental journalism program. This is her first appearance in EJ. Contact Sarah at crespi@msu.edu
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