By: Kirk Bassett

In the past five years the words “buying local” have become a topic of debate. Generally, people agree that buying local will help the local economy and the citizens as a whole. According to the Huffington Post, “Local business generates 70% more local economic activity per sq. ft than big box retail.” In addition to this statistic, not buying local products will contribute to polluting the environment. According to Environment for Beginners, “By adding transportation, processing and packaging to the food system equation, the fossil fuel and energy use of our current food system puts tremendous stress on our environment.” Naturally, with these arguments, it’s hard to disagree with the benefits of buying local products. The difficult part for an individual is asking themselves whether or not it will benefit them. For example, think of a college student looking to buy their groceries for the week. If they do not have the finances to pay a sufficient amount of money on their food, they will most likely go to a store like Walmart where there are cheaper options.  Research shows that buying a large pizza from a local restaurant in Eugene, like Whirled pies, is going to cost around 20 dollars compared to ten dollars for the same size pizza at Dominos. With the heated debate surrounding this topic, getting to hear local citizens tell their personal stories of how they shop will be more than interesting.