Locavore Synthesis Essay

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.

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.

There is way too much fascinating information to unpack in this book - 99% of the 400 million turkeys consumed in America annually are artificially inseminated by humans! (p. 90). And we totally misunderstand lactose intolerance (p. 136-37). One would have to read this book one hundred times over to fully critique its value. But it is good! Great even. There is so much to learn about the world and how food systems affect climate change and how climate change affects ecosystems and all living things. Kingsolver provides a tool for change through this book by suggesting ways of living that reduce our harmful footprint on the earth. She does this by sharing her story of eating locally for a year and pairing those stories with loaded insights about how the current industrial food and farm systems are ultimately destroying the world. At the very least this book should cause people who have not before, to stop and evaluate their participation in this industrial food system. Their actions and inactions may even be changed by their uncomfortable awareness of how most of us are eating.

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.

Many people are not sure whether the locavore movement is the right route to take, however, Americans are not aware of the positive things it brings to its community. The taste and quality of their produce will improve, along with nutritional factors. Making

The locavore movement has become increasingly popular over the last decade. Locavores are people who prefer to eat food that is locally grown and doesn’t travel long distances before getting to their plates. This thought process is slowly changing the way people eat and the ideals people consider when choosing food to eat. Along with this fresh perspective on where our food comes from, the movement provides a innovative ideal towards what is sustainable and what is not sustainable. While the definition of local is dependent on the buyer the effect is the same. The locavore movement has a positive impact on the local communities through improving the income and number of local farms that fosters good communities, and increasing the nutritional value of food eaten.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics 2011 Consumer Expenditure Survey, each year millions of americans visit grocery stores, spending an average of $8,315, buying food to feed themselves and their families. However, how many of these americans stop to think of the where this food came from, how it was produced, or the impact that this food has on our environment? On Buying Local, is a persuasive essay written by Kathrine Spriggs, that explores some of these questions, and addresses many points of interest regarding the ideas and benefits of buying locally produced food.

In the end, it becomes troublesome to go grocery shopping. Likewise, this ties into the idea of environment. Which is more environmentally friendly: to walk to a local Whole Foods or to drive to the “local” farmer’s market? Many would say buying local reduces waste due to transportation; nonetheless, a chart from the magazine Conservation Magazine proves that a majority of gas emissions actually comes from the production of the food (Source D). Transportation is low already, so why should we add to that by traveling far distances? Becoming a true locavore for an environmental reason is not worth the efforts because the changes are very miniscule To become a true locavore has many incentives, but there are other reasons that influence can someone to dedicate a portion of their diet to local foods.

Eating food produced within a hundred-mile radius has never been a prominent concern historically, though there has been a recent increase in this trend. Those that are rigorously set on this new ideology are being labeled “locavores”. Christophe Pelletier, being a proficient individual on the topic of food production had an educated opinion on the locavore’s predicted way of life. Pelletier’s, “The Locavore’s Dilemma”, provides multiple examples to support his belief that informing every resident of the carbon footprint their food contains would realistically carryout the locavore’s ideology to a more viable agriculture. His blog post on this ideology goes into depth about the physical and economical destruction they would provoke. This would include: the possibility of famine, lack of needed nutritional supplements,

The locavore movement encourages people in towns to consume more locally grown food, by society consuming locally grown food transportation is cut down which helps better the environment. Since locally grown food is produce that is cultivated in the community transportation is down to a minimum which is a blessing for the environment. “ Eating local is better for air quality and pollution than eating organic. “ ( Source A ) less transportation use helps lessen the pollution in the air which in turn helps provide the community with cleaner fresher air. “ The move towards local food for all its trendiness highlights one of the problematic pieces of the modern food economy : the increasing reliance on foods shipped halfway round the world. “ ( Source E ) The

Did you know that one in every four childen in the United States is obese? But by buying and eating locally grown you can hopefully prevent yourself from getting obese. In the novel, Omnivore’s Dilemma: The Secrets Behind What You Eat, written by Michael Pollan, he talks about four food chains- industrial, industrial organic, local sustainable, and the hunter-gatherer food chain. In the Industrial food chain, people would grow their genetically modified crops on a monoculture farm and they would spray artificial fertilizer, pesticides, and other harmful chemicals on the plants. When growing organic foods on a monoculture farm in the industrial organic food chain, people would using natural fertilizer and would not use pesticides, antibiotics,

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.

Local small towns need as much support from the community to stay functioning, and running. With being a locavore it provides the economy of these small towns to increase due to funds going to the farmers, and stores that sell these products. Locally owned businesses rely on the community to purchase their products, and if these local shops aren’t receiving income than these shops can’t stay in business. The locavore movement is important for rural economies, and better for air quality. “A dollar spent locally generates twice as much income for the local economy” (Source A) Jennifer Maiser refers to the locavore movement as beneficial to food that’s locally grown. The community provides funds for towns suffering and even eating locally grown food is healthier and has much more of a variety than shipped

Americans today seem to believe that the world should join the locavore movement- when one chooses to primarily eat locally grown or produced products- that has become popular in the past decade. With joining this movement, many people believe their lives and the community will greatly improve. While critics defend that this change in lifestyle has shown very small improvements in the last ten years, supporters of this campaign argue that it benefits the economy, their health, and the environment.

The way we eat food has changed drastically in the past few decades. When I think of the process of how our food is made and produced, I typically think of a farm with animals laying around, eating grass, content with everything. Also, I picture ripe red tomatoes, apples, and sweet smelling fruit being pick right when it is ripened so it can get to our grocery stores. This is typically how most people picture our food coming from a farm. It is how they want us to picture it, because it is a happy image: but, it is far from the reality of how things are.