Analysis Of The Locavore Movement

The locavore movement is a movement encouraging the localization of food production and consumption, or in other words, it is encouraging people to buy straight from the farmers’ market. This idea of closing the gap between producer and consumer proves to be very helpful to many different communities when it is taken seriously and with tactic. A community would largely benefit from an organized locavore movement because locally grown food strengthens the local economy, it is fresher and more nutritious, and provides equity between producer and consumer. Locally grown and sold produce empowers and sustains a community’s economy. “According to a study by the New Economics Foundation in London, a dollar spent locally generates twice as much income
Alisa Smith, creator of the “100-Mile Diet“, states that “food begins to lose nutrition as soon as it is harvested. Fruit and vegetables that travel shorter distances are therefore likely to be closer to a maximum of nutrition” (Smith). A shorter distance between the farm and the market means healthier food, ultimately resulting in a healthier community. Ensuring safer food choices with locally grown produce will draw consumers to the locavore movement. This feeling of safety will not just draw one-time customers, but permanent buyers. Mothers who want their family to be healthy and their children to be free of any dangers coming from processed food will continually shop at the farmer’s market, all because of the natural and fresh produce, caused by the near proximity of farms to the
In his book,”The End of Food”, Paul Roberts says that “shifting back to a more locally sourced food economy is often touted as a fairly straightforward way to cut externalities and restore some measure of equity between producers and consumers.” (Roberts). Returning to simple ways of commerce will not only benefit the producer, but also the consumer. Farmers will be paid directly for their produce, without the perplexity of shipping it to another location to be sold in a major franchise store, such as Walmart, in which case the amount earned would be based off of a complex pricing system. Consumers of locally produced food will be reaping the benefits of purely natural fruits, vegetables, grains, and dairy. Because of the direct relationship between the two, both sides receive enhancements in either their business or their consumption of natural foods.
Some may say that the locavore movement is oblivious to the safety that “sanitized” and processed foods bring. However, as mentioned in Jennifer Maiser’s “10 Reasons to Eat Local Food”, because of the lesser amount of distance local food travels, contamination of these all-natural foods is highly unlikely. The processes that non-local food goes through to be “sanitized” and kept “fresh” bring a higher risk of health hazards than simply grown, all-natural local