Decreasing Distance and Re-Valuing Local

Klassen, S. (2016). Decreasing Distance and Re-Valuing Local: How Place-Based Food Systems Can Foster Socio-Ecological Sustainability. Solutions 7(4): 22–26. https://thesolutionsjournal.com/article/decreasing-distance-and-re-valuing-local-how-place-based-food-systems-can-foster-socio-ecological-sustainability/

Perspectives Decreasing Distance and Re-Valuing Local: How Place-Based Food Systems  Can Foster Socio-Ecological Sustainability by Susanna E. Klassen

Never Mind the End

Street art in Washington, DC.

W

ith the global agricultural system in crisis, there is growing public understanding of issues surrounding food insecurity and the negative environmental impacts of agriculture. As a result, consumers are increasingly aware of the impacts of their food choices, weighing concerns about animal welfare, pesticide use, nutrition, and genetically modified foods. The advice to ‘eat local’ is one of several proposed rules of thumb to ease decision-making at the grocery store or farmers’ market. Promoted by activists

and academics alike as a remedy to the dual problem of food insecurity and agriculture’s ecological impacts, the local food movement has gained significant momentum in recent years. But does supporting your local food system contribute to sustainability? The drive for localization is premised in part on the concept of ‘food miles,’ suggesting that reducing the distance food travels between farm (producer) and fork (consumer) will minimize the environmental impact of consumers’ food choices.

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However, this claim has been critiqued by several studies showing that ‘food miles’ don’t necessarily represent a substantial portion of the energy usage involved in food production and that choosing imported food produced in more suitable climates can be more environmentally friendly in terms of greenhouse gas emissions.1 As a result of these findings, some critique the localization trend for being a false solution to the environmental problems created by a globalized and industrial food system.2