Many scholars believe that the localization of food could be the solution to many of the issues our society deals with surrounding food. From poor sanitary conditions, the increase of genetically modified foods, and subsidies on corn making poor quality food more affordable, it seems like localizing the food market could fix many of our problems. But is this new solution viable for every community? Certainly here in the Pacific Northwest we have the means of producing large amounts of food of many varieties, but do other communities share this same fortune? While here in the Willamette Valley we have very fertile soils and weather that allows us to grow food all year long, many places around the world, even around the United States don’t have the same accessibility to good growing conditions. For this reason I do not believe that localizing all food sources is enough to fix the worldwide issues we have with food.
Patricia Allen talks about the different things to consider when talking about the localization of food in “Realizing Justice in Local Food Systems”. She talks about the obvious benefits of a localized food system like, quality, nutrition, and community support, while also bringing up the issues that are not so clearly seen as positive or negative, such as social justice issues. Allen defines a socially just food system as, “one in which power and material resources are shared equitably so that people and communities can meet their needs, and live with security and dignity, now and into the future.’’ Is this definition in itself fair to all communities? If a socially just food system is one where all the people in a community can meet their needs, is it possible to have such a food system in places where locally grown food is not as abundant. Wouldn’t some communities need importation of foods to feed their communities and have a socially just food system?
While localizing food would solve many of the issues we have with food, in a place like the Willamette Valley where we have access to growing food all year long, it might not even be enough to feed our community. Katy J. Giombolini et. al. point out in “Testing the Local Reality: does the Willamette Valley growing region produce enough to meet the needs of the local population? A comparison of agriculture production and recommended dietary requirements,” that if the Willamette Valley took all the food that it grew and dispersed it just throughout its own community, it would not be enough to meet to meet the dietary recommendations suggested by the USDA and USHHS. This shows that even in a place so abundant with food like in the Willamette Valley it would be hard to feed a community using only local food and no importation. When comparing these results about the Willamette Valley to other communities around the world, it seems it would be impossible for almost every country in the world to survive on only local food. Since the vast amount of exportation and importation of food has aloud communities to survive and grow, it would simply be impossible for them to go back to purely local food and expect to feed the whole community.
Work Cited
Allen, P. 2010. “Realizing Justice in Local Food Systems.” Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society 3 (2): 295–308.
Giombolini, Katlyn J, Kimberlee J Chambers, Joe W Bowersox, and M Henry. 2011. “From Turf to Table : Grass Seed to Edible Grains in the Willamette Valley.” Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development 2 (1): 141–161.