Hailey Kruger
English 125
Professor Miller
30 September 2015
A Critique on Locavorism
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.
Scientific data has disproven Locavore’s claims that buying food locally is more environmentally friendly and sustainable than purchasing globally grown food and instead illustrates the benefits of “agri-business” food. Locavore’s claim that the distance food travels from where it was grown to where is will be consumed – known as food miles- seriously contribute to environmental problems (Shimizu and Desrochers Introduction). However, transportation composes only a small
minimize ecological footprints and gain awareness behind the truth of our food routes. Presently, it is very easy to get a variety of different flavours in one supermarket; trinidadian eggplants, chinese bitter melon, hungarian hot peppers and many other delectable products from around the world, but what many don’t realize is that it takes on average 1,500 to 3,000 miles and 250,000
Locavores consume only locally grown foods in an effort to reduce their carbon footprints and lose weight, among other reasons. The popularity of locavorism has grown dramatically over the last decade, and its merits are extolled by scientists and ordinary consumers alike. The locavore movement seems to be indisputably beneficial to the environment, the economy, and to consumer health, yet close examination of its common tenets reveals issues which should be taken into account before beginning a locavore diet.
Saving the planet is a topic that is taken seriously by a huge part of this planet’s population. James McWilliams argument, “The Locavore Myth: Why Buying from Nearby Farmer Won’t Save the Planet,” explains why people need to buy food from people other than the local farmers. He believes that the focus of the locavore movement on transportation is wrong because the real problem lies within the energy-hogging factors in food production. McWilliams also went on to explain that another mistake that the locavore movement made was how food miles were calculated. He believes that a truck with 2,000 apples driving 2,000 miles would consume the same amount of fuel as a truck that carried 50 apples to a local shop only 50 miles away. James McWilliams states that “The critical measure here is not food miles but apples per gallon.” He also argues that taking meat out of a person’s diet would cut down on the carbon footprint of his or her dinner because it takes less energy to bring plants, rather than meat, to the table.
Global warming, pollution, and dwindling fossil fuels will always be the conservational problems if nobody starts to buy local grown foods. Katherine Spriggs, author of the essay, “On Buying Local,” explains how having a large variety of foods at all times of the year is not worth the negative effects in the communities and their economies (Spriggs 92). As a community, many environmental challenges are being faced; Buying local will help bring advantages to not only the environment, but also the small towns and the
In her article she writes about how the earth is being affected by all the pollutions and greenhouse gases that are being emitted. She explains about how the food industry contributes by “Most produce is shipped many miles before it is sold to consumers, and shipping our food for long distances is costly in both the amount of fossil fuel it uses and the greenhouse gases it produces” (93). This adds to her argument that buying local will help reduce the amount of air pollution from transporting food. In an article by Environmental Board the authors claim “If you buy locally, you protect and make the environment more sustainable because you don’t have to truck the food thousands of miles across the country or import it from other countries which takes a lot of energy. It is a lot better for the climate and region” (1). This information provides evidence to support her theory in which buying local can help reduce harmful
The growing locavore movement suggests that local food is key for healthy eating and community growth. One would imagine that the closer the source of one’s food is from, the healthier and more sustainable it is, right? However, this is not the case. In the set of locavore articles, the authors provide information to show that the locavore movement brings about issues involving inefficiency, energy use, and impracticality.
In “The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A natural history of four meals,” Michael Pollan examines American eating habits. The book is divided into three pieces. The first piece focuses on industrial farming, the second analyzes organic food, and the third discusses hunting and gathering of our own food.
The Omnivore’s Dilemma, written by Michael Pollan, gives light to the question, “What should we have for dinner?” that he thinks Americans today cannot answer simply due to the fact that there are too many food options. This book serves as an eye-opener to challenge readers to be more aware and accountable of what is consumed daily. In order to understand fully where our food comes from, we must follow it back to the very beginning. Pollan goes on to discuss three different modern food chains in which we get our food: the industrial, the organic, and the hunter-gatherer. By tracing our food back to the beginning, we can understand that most of the nutritional and health problems America is going through today can be found on the farms that make our food and the government that can decide what happens. America deals with many food related illness such as, heart disease, obesity, and type II diabetes. Majority of a human and animals diet consists of being corn-fed leading to a high cause of obesity in the United States these are just some of the many diseases that come with over processed foods and diets we are unaware of. In this study, we will highlight the environmental and health issues and impacts related with modern agriculture and how these systems can be made more sustainable.
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.
Michael Pollan the author of Omnivore 's Dilemma discusses and asks, “what should we have for dinner?” He attempts to answer one of the pressing questions of sustainability in today 's society, to save money or to save the planet, and how? Pollan talks about how humans are omnivores and we have the choice to eat whatever we want, no matter the health and sustainability implications of our decisions. Pollan discusses three main food chains, industrial (corn), organic, and hunter/gatherer. He analyzes each food chain, learning eating industrial is basically eating corn, and goes into the complex issues
Locavores are consumers of locally grown or produced products. Eating fresh foods from their local farmer’s market can improve income twice as much for its economy. This is important because people give away their money to companies that could instead be giving it to benefit their community. Gogoi Pallavi the author of The Rise of the Locavore states, “It’s a movement that is gradually reshaping the business of growing...local food movement has already accomplished something almost no
What am I exactly eating? Where does our food come from? Why should I care? “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” may forever change the way you think about food. I enjoyed Mr. Pollan’s book, “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” and learned a great deal of information. Pollan’s book is a plea for us to stop and think for a moment about our whole process of eating. Pollan sets out to corn fields and natural farms, goes hunting and foraging, all in the name of coming to terms with where food really comes from in modern America and what the ramifications are for the eaters, the eaten, the economy and the environment. The results are far more than I expected them to be.
Consumers have become increasingly detached from their food as America’s food system grows larger and continues to ruin the environment. The main problem is that most consumers do not know how their consumption habits affect the ecosystem around them. Nor do they know about how their food was produced. Information about how and where the food is being produced and wasted is essential, so people can shop responsibly. Short of legislation, Americans make choices at the grocery store. It is essential for all Americans to cast in a vote with their dollars to change the way that food is produced in the United States resulting in more sustainable food being more accessible in the aisles of the grocery store for all Americans.
Locavores on one hand, want to buy their fresh products directly from the producer. Which is fine, if it weren’t for the difficulties the everyday buyer would have to go through.”Further, whereas some areas might find it fairly easy to eat locally (...), people in other parts of the country and the world would have to look farther afield.” (source F). Many have to consider that the majority live in urban areas, so access to fresh foods can be up to 150+ mile radius making it rather difficult for the consumer
Although some may argue that locavorism is useless, its health benefits show otherwise. Locavorism not only benefits human beings but the environment itself.