Local this, local that, why aren’t we getting it?
I know some of you are doing this, so take this as a kudos to you and not a criticism. Myself, I try, but I know there are areas where I could improve. Feel free to drop comments below for other ideas of things others (and myself) can do to improve…
I recently moved from Blacksburg, VA where there was a big push for local shopping and local dining (buy local. eat local. be local.). We took that to heart and while living in Blacksburg we dined at local establishments rather than chains (Blacksburg has actually been pretty successful (in the past) at keeping the chains at a distance). We shopped at the Blacksburg Farmer’s Market on weekends and we tried to keep it local for shopping when we could (we’ve been boycotting Wal-mart for years and my wife can claim not to have been in one for at least 5 years while I had to cheat once).
We moved to Raleigh, NC this summer and have found it much more difficult to keep it local. The presence of the chains and dining preferences of friends of ours have made it difficult, but as for ourselves, we would much rather eat at Daniels than at Macaroni Grill or Carrabas to name just a single type of cuisine and a few chains. We have tried the local Farmer’s Market and when in the grocery store look for the produce which is “locally grown”. We also try to shape our home cooking with seasonal fare (e.g. with vegetables that are in season (no summer squash in November, etc.)).
However, recently on a cross continent trip of interviews, we stayed in Guelph, Ontario for a weekend. I was amazed at the focus on “Buy Ontario” while visiting. Every restaurant we visited highlighted the local ingredients on the menu (specifically local meats and sausages), local brews highlighted locally grown grain, signs on the side of the road encouraged buying local and from what I could gather when interacting with locals this is a huge trend. I’m not sure if it’s penetrated Toronto yet, but while out in the smaller suburban towns, it was very noticeable.
The benefits of buying local produced food and shopping at local stores (as opposed to corporate giants) are too numerous to be counted and I just don’t know why it hasn’t been embraced in the US and regionally where we are now with more gusto including at the policy level. Our reliance on factory everything (farming, butchering, growing, packaging, shipping, etc.) and the health codes that go along with those factories don’t actually make us safer and most likely have made us less so, cost more money, do more harm to the environment, create fewer jobs, and have a huge cultural impact with the loss of local and regional trends and flavors.
Myself, I plan on continuing what I’m doing and looking local before looking at Wallyworld. I will continue to shop at the Farmer’s Market and am even looking for a local CSA (if you know of one around Apex, NC, please drop me an e-mail).
What are you doing to support your locality?
What can we do to encourage “local friendly” policy?
