Locavores and Food Miles

A Locavore is someone who eats foods grown locally, usually for ecological reasons.  One key concept of Locavores is to consider the "food miles" or the distance food travels before being consumed as a means of measuring the environmental impact.  However, in the book, "Just Food" by James McWilliams, the concept of food miles is shown to be less powerful or even incorrect.

McWilliams digs into several studies, including one by the Journal of Environmental Science and Technology (2008) that measures the fossil fuel used in each stage of the food chain.  The study shows that 46% is used in the production and processing of food, and 16-25% is used in the preparation of the food to eat (16% in restaurants and 25% in homes), and only 11% in the transportation of food.

McWilliams shows any number of counter intuitive examples where what seems like the most eco-friendly food is in fact not.  For example, he quotes studies on tomatoes produced in Britain to be consumed in Britain vs tomatoes shipped from Spain to be consumed in Britain.  The tomatoes from Spain actually use fewer fossil fuels because it takes more to produce tomatoes in Britain than in Spain.  This gets at the comparative advantage of different countries or geographic regions to produce different types of food.

If we are to eat only what is produced locally, McWilliams and others highlight the likely decline in nutrition that would occur.  Tomatoes, from our example above, are frequently noted as one of the top ten "power" foods for their importance in nutrition and health.  Increased nutrition is one of the keys to the improved health and longer life expectancy in humans and should not be ignored or discounted.

Last, McWilliams notes that in order to eat locally, people usually need to drive to a farmer's market, which is usually not the closest place for them to shop.  In addition, they usually also end up shopping at another food/grocery store, because all of their food needs are not provided by the farmer's market.  These trips end up using more fossil fuel than if the person would have done one shop at their local grocery store.  Given this weekly cost to purchase food and the small cost of transportation included in the cost of food, this weakens the power of the food miles argument further. (See the McWilliams book for these cost calculations.)

I think eating locally produced foods can bring a lot of positive connections and emotions, not to mention being fresh and delicious, especially alongside other foods to complete the nutritional needs and desire for variety.  However,  I do not yet see reliable scientific evidence that it or permaculture can significantly reduce dependence on fossil fuels or feed the 8 billion people on our planet.  Instead of making eating locally a politicized "movement," I think we should simply acknowledge and celebrate the enjoyment it brings.