Summary: Complications With The Locavore Movement

Before beginning their journey Catacalos and Janzen asked themselves questions such as, “Was choosing to consume foods locally a scam or was it worth their time?” along with “Is eating locally better for the environment?” as well as “Is choosing to eat locally more expensive than not?” Within a month’s time, both Catacalos and Janzen hoped to have their questions answered (117).

Buying local is the new slogan of producers and sellers selling their foods in the food market. There are a few stances that can be taken such as not bothering to care about where the food came from, getting what can be purchased within reason, and the extreme locavore. Although eating local and organic is desirable, it is improbable to create a sustainable lifestyle with the given difficulties.

A new type of agriculture, locavore, is becoming larger and larger, the locavore lifestyle is promised to give anyone who lives it a healthy life. locavore is the practice of only consuming locally grown foods. Joining the locavore movement and eating locally grown foods is more healthy and helpful to the human body, but forcefully changing Americaʼs diet would prove to be dreadfully difficult, not to mention the negative impact it will have on the economy, including the fact that eating local foods is not the only way to stay healthy .There are many issues that must be taking into account before determining whether a transition so large would truly benefit any community or wreak havoc.

Locavorism has both strong supporters and vehement opposers, as most trends do. Overall, eating locally isn’t a bad idea: it can connect you with community farmers and help you to choose healthier meals. However — as with all topics — it isn’t all black and white. Many common locavorism arguments aren’t grounded in science, and people exalt it while blindly ignoring the aforementioned issues. People considering locavorism should ensure that they consider the negatives before beginning a locavore

Locavores base their lifestyle decision on the thought that the closer the food is the better it must be.But, according to Marion Nestle, a Professor and former chair of nutrition at New York University, the quality of produce is not dependent on the proximity from which the food came, but the independent factors like rich soil that determines the nutrients

I picked up a sweet, fresh, bright red apple at the farmer's market. The tangy smell of the apple makes me hungry, knowing I’m getting the freshest and most nutritious apple. Though is it really any different from the apple grown 300 miles away? The locavores are people who decided to eat locally grown produce, this has become known as the locavore movement and is quickly becoming widespread among more people. But, is a locavore movement really needed? The fact is, there is no difference between local produce and produce that was grown hundreds of miles away. The locavore movement may not make a huge difference.

Locavores are people who only eat food within a 100 mile radius.(source g) The idea of being a locavore is new but slightly unnecessary due to the era of production our society lives on today. Foods shipped from far places may be lacking the nutrients that any other fruit or vegetable grown in a farm closer would have. (source B) But the nutritional differences are “marginal”, it's not much of a difference, not enough to affect a person's health anyways. Considering the fast-paced societies growing today in America, relying on the “high demand” farmers would have to meet, can slow down the community's economic growth speed.

On the contrary, James E. has concluded that the locavore movement causes problems like “industrialized food.” The academic study in 2006 is the ecological matter about a Londoner buying a lamb addressed from New Zealand rather than purchasing lamb brought up in the UK, is said to be absurd if only considering “food-miles.” Paul Roberts claims that this has lead to casting a bright spotlight on the questionable segments of the “modern food economy.” Based on the ideas of Paul, by reason of the “long-distance food shipments promote profligate fuel use[,] exploitation of cheap labour” this has resulted in the rise of “reliance” on foods shipped from halfway round the world.

In the world of today, a new form of agriculture is starting to take place called "locavores." Locavores seek to change the way people eat by only growing and selling produce locally. However, many problems must be brought up to light before choosing this method as a benefit to the community.

If healthy food is the best food, why are we settling for any less? Locavore communities contain people who have decided to eat locally grown/produced products. Not only are locavore communities positively impacting local economies, they are also creating bonds within communities, and those involved are proving to be more nutritious and healthy.

As you scan the meat aisle of the grocery store, how do you select your meat? Some people choose by brand, price, looks and even organic verses non-organic. But does any of this really matter? Apparently, none of this matters in today’s society when choosing the meat in which our families will consume. According to Eric Schosser the author of the film “Food Inc.” the idea that you would need to write a book telling people about where their food came from is just a sign of how far removed we become. In the past, our food used to come from local farmers that have grown and harvested the fruits, vegetables, meat etcetera themselves, but in today’s society, most of our food isn’t grown locally, it’s shipped from across the world and pumped with many products to increase shelf longevity and some have even been finished growing with gas so the item is ripe by the time it hits the supermarkets.

Every Tuesday, of every summer a local foods market pops up in Thiensville, Wisconsin just a ten minute drive away. Every week my friends and I go at lunchtime to eat food grown on local farms. Fruits and vegetables of every color and every flavor. Juices and tea made from local herbs. Even an ice cream truck made with local dairy products. The locavore movement in all it’s glory. I am proud to be a proponent of a movement that has gained so much popularity in past years. Although locavore practices have proven to be difficult to maintain and unpredictable in production, the widely popular movement has incited change resulting in healthier eating practices along with profitable advancements for the local economy.

"Local food", "local food movement" or the "Locavores" are a movement which aim to connect food producers and food consumers in the same geographic region; in order to develop more self-reliant and resilient food networks, improve local economies, or for health, environmental, community, or social impact in a particular place.[1] The term has also been extended

Locavorism – the idea that food grown in close proximity to where one consumes it is not only more nutritious and better tasting, but also more environmentally responsible than mass produced food – seems to be igniting a food revolution in America (The Week Staff). The movement has gained momentum across America as the number of farmers markets has increased fivefold since 1994 (The Week Staff). Locavores, those who champion the locavorism movement boast that buying and eating food locally is more environmentally sound, more nutritious and safer, but do their claims hold up? Sums of historical and scientific data disprove claims that locavorism is an all around better system than that used by agri-business. While buying and consuming food locally makes sense at times, confining people to only consuming local food is actually less sustainable, less, nutritious, and less safe than consuming food that is mass produced.

The smell of fresh vegetables and fruit, the vibrant colors from every direction you look, and the friendly smiles that come from the question, “Would you like to try one?” Yes, this is farmer’s market many people attend to buy the foods they eat at home. But why? The locavore movement, a trend for people to eat locally grown products, can have many benefits when looking into the environment around you and personal nutrition.