It is not just local!! It is local and organic. I will not support genetically enginered crops or pesticides. I do shop at my local farmers market and every stand i support, even the flower booth, is organic. The local movement should not support farmers who are pouring junk into our soil air and rivers. I also believe we can't go local overnight when so many already poor farmers in other countries depend on our buisness. i will buy organic produce from mexico etc... To truly do this right we need to reinvent the way our world's economy functions as well as the methods we use for shipping. Buying local is a wonderful idea and it should be done in a way that supports the enviroment but also helps the world's poor to prosper.

Something that has not been mentioned...The cost of buying local food is also a matter of priority. I do not earn a high income, but I choose to spend my money on good, local, healthful food. I could choose to spend my money on a new flat screen TV, a new car, or any other luxury, but I don't. Instead, I choose to spend it on good food that I cook from scratch because health is important to me and supporting local farmers is important to me. It's not only an economical issue it's also an issue of upholding your values in regards to sustainability and health.

The tomatoes you are buying from Mexico are not supporting a poor farmer. They are supporting a huge corporation that undercuts and destroys local agriculture.

We moved here from WashDC 7 years ago and very soon realized we were in food heaven. When I think about local food I think regionally so try to buy food grown or manufactured within the western Canada, WA, western Idaho, OR and northern CA area. And if I could figure out how to do without coffee and tea, I cannot think of anything I want or need for nutrition that cannot be found in my region. How fortunate we are indeed.

I want to bring up the farm to school connection that is being made in Oregon. We are the only state with a Dept. of Agriculture Farm to School Coordinator. He is working closely with the Dept. of Education Director of Child Nutrition Programs, and Ecotrust's Farm to School Program. These folks are helping the schools in Oregon to not only grow their own food, but to utilize the wonderful local farmers we have. I am curious that if schools bought only local food, would that boost us from the 2 to 30% that Larry Lev of OSU Extension Service is shooting for? Let's support school gardens and more importantly, LET'S MANDATE THAT LOCAL FARMERS SUPPLY OREGON"S SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM. Thanks

I totally agree that schools should source local foods, however the change is going to require changes in federal policy. The funding/subsidy program for schools requires purchasing of commodities. Since the state of Oregon does not help support the school lunch program it will be difficult to make this change at local levels.

I am so delighted to see this topic! I'm a self supporting writer (read 'poor') and I've been growing all my fruits/veggies/meat on my 2.5 acres on the outskirts of Portland for more than 20 years. It's not just a matter of selling produce locally, it's a matter of eating seasonally. We are so used to cooking what we want for meals, and that usually includes ingredients from three seasons and two or three continents. Eating with the season -- and we are blessed with near year round fresh produce here -- takes more creativity, especially this time of year.

Mary Rosenblum

Eating 100% local is not practical and is not the goal of the local movement. The important thing is to prioritize locally grown and processed foods.

Buying local supports us all by strengthening our local economy and community. I believe that neighbors are more motivated to use careful, sustainable practices because of communal ties.

By growing food locally we can prioritize flavor and nutritional characteristics over packing and shipping qualities.

As we enter peak oil, food that is transported will become more expensive and less practical. If we’ve lost the land best suited to growing food, the farmers with the knowledge to grow food and the plants best suited to grow here, we’ve lost a lot, perhaps forever.

What many people do not realize is the financial risk associated with food processing. The capital investment needed is huge and it takes a long time to get a return on that investment. I am often surprised that we, some of the most affluent people on the planet, balk at the marginal increase in price needed to support local foods.

Larry Lev is incredibly knowledgeable about farmers markets and local food systems. How he was quoted here makes him sound bad, believe me, Larry has done more for the local food movement than most.

Well, eating local is a nice idea... but when your food budget is already thin, what options do we have? No local ramen noodle plants that I'm aware of... and the rice i grind for bread comes from the Lundberg group in Cali (no, I won't move there to be close to my food source) since rice doesn't flourish here (climate change may help, but probably not for a few generations). When we still had a house in Washington, we grew some vegies, but I have limits on what I am allowed to grow on my apartment porch. Yes, I'll pick berries again this year on days off, but that doesn't seem like what you're talking about.

There are a few problems with eating local from where I sit:

Cost: from fuel driving around to farmers markets to buy produce, to the dollars that critical foods cost. We don't live on fruits, but on grains (and grain products) with some meat. Local salmon is about out this year, and the price of the good free range and pasture fed meat is out of reach for more than condiment status now. I'd love to support the bison and elk ranchers again, but which of my wife's meds do I sacrifice? If I go fishing (about all I can afford in large meat purchases is bait), am I supporting the local food web or actually taking even my limited potential purchases out of circulation?

Availability: actually having local food markets open when I can go. I'm headed out to work now and won't be back until some time around 6pm to 7pm tonight, it's Monday to Saturday work (but at least I'm not unemployed). Safeway will be open when I’m on my way home, and it's just a block out of my route... there is nothing with local food even close, much less open when I can get to it. Am I unique? Is this discussion really just aimed at those who aren't the landless working class (I won't include the poor, I think I got more local food when I had to go to the food banks than we do now)?

On the larger scale, the topic brings up questions about what has a better carbon footprint. There have been some interesting NPR segments on grass fed lamb from New Zealand having a better footprint and lower cost in England, have we got here what it takes to compete on such consideration (ok, we have great grass fed lamb here, though again, it's way out of my pay grade)? And what about just the other side of the mountains? Do they have to subsist on just beef, wheat, and apples? Does the concept of eating locally work only if you live in places like the Willamette valley where you actually have a broad range of choices if you can afford them?

This is IMPORTANT. I feel like a lot of people are brushing it off by saying that the folks shopping at farmers markets aren't spending money on big screen tv's and Hermes bags... but that ignores the difference between middle class and working class. The only reasons that I can afford to eat locally are because I am young and have no dependents, share a house with 5 other people, work at a food co-op and recieve a discount and free 'distressed' produce and have enough free time to grow lots of food.

If I had a kid, or a sick spouse or any number of other factors that MOST people have, I wouldn't be able to hack it in the local food part of my life.

TIME is also an issue in working people's lives - I certainly find myself eating a lot more (NOT organic, NOT Local) Pizza now that I'm working AND in school full time. It's easy to make a salad out of the greens in my garden, but sometimes I'm hungrier than that and have a paper to write.

Someone said that people could spend less time in front of a tv and more time in thier garden.... Probably said by someone with an office job. My father and some of my housemates do very physical work ALL DAY. They don't necessarily want to come home and do more.

The thing that I love about Food Politics is that it ties in so well to everything else, because everyone Eats. So, why aren't we willing to pay people a living wage for a days work? Why aren't we willing to pay farmers a living wage? Why do we allow huge agricorps to sell enough (organic) Tomatoes and lettuce for $2 when we know that if a farmer were to sell it for that, he would go broke????

Are we sinning when we eat bananas, chocolate and coffee? It seems like there are many positive aspects to choosing to consume local foods--supporting local businesses/farmers, enjoying great products and supporting sustainable farming practices. It also seems like there is a role for supporting good farming practices in areas of the globe that grow things that can not be grown in the Willamette Valley and giving those farmers a good market for their crops as well. (And, in some cases the alternative crops those farmers could grow in their terrain and climate are drug crops.)

The ability to find excellent local produce is one of the best things about living in Oregon. I'm in favor of supporting infrastructure like farmers' markets to make it easier for more people to enjoy the freshness and quality made possible by buying locally. It's important to be sure that, in supporting farmers and the markets at which they sell, we are careful to maintain their freedom to grow what makes the most sense for them economically--whether that's a product for local consumption or export. It's also important to produce food where it's most efficient, to keep prices down so that food is accessible to those at all income levels. As we work to reduce fuel consumption, it's especially vital that we think through the efficiency issues of producing various crops in different ecological zones. Balancing all of these issues is a big challenge for Oregon, its consumers, producers, and government; we need to recognize this complexity and avoid oversimplifying. Producing food locally may make sense in some cases, and in others we may have an opportunity to support farmers in other areas or countries.

California rice harvests are unsustainable, limited by both water scarcity and salinization of the soil. Australia is facing the same issues (page A6 of today’s Oregonian). A related story on page A8 of today’s paper illustrates another cost of pumping water for agriculture on declining west coast salmon populations. Meanwhile you’ll have a hard time finding that cheap salmon from Chile, see page one of today’s business section “Virus concerns spur Safeway to stop buying Chilean salmon”.

Local food is more expensive in part because we have not invested in the local processing and distribution. That can and must change. It must be supported by those that can afford to do so. Throughout the 10,000 year history of agriculture innovation and change has been underwritten by the affluent and privileged resulting in dietary changes for everyone else. In the middle ages the masses in Europe ate a grain based porridge, it was investment by the rich that made vegetables and meat available to most. Unfortunately our investment has made it possible to get flavorless tomatoes and strawberries in February.

I support buying local, but good ideas taken too far can often go bad. The economics can be negative for the local community. An example is Tillamook Cheese: the cheese is made in Tillamook County, the cows and milk are closer to Boise. How do you define "local" in this case?

More importantly, Tillamook, a proud local company, distributes widely to probably 150million people. "Local" Tillamook consumers may only include about 2 million Oregonians. Reducing their consuming footprint by 98% might well bankrupt the firm. This is an extreme example, however the "buy local" does not consider or recognize the "export" economy of local producers who prosper by exporting products out of our low-population rural geography. We can only build a great food economy and local prosperity by supporting artisans and industries that flourish locally and internationally.

I agree - it is not only LOCAL, but also food that has been raised without chemicals and that has not been genetically modified. What local growers need to know is that Oregonians are wise to 2 things: 1) the USDA organic label means nothing; 2) we know all about GE foods and WE DON'T WANT THEM! If local farmers want to increase their local sales, they need to grow their crops responsibly. My 10-year-old daughter chose "You Shouldn't Eat GE Foods" for her persuasive speech at school. We went in search of a short word for "non-GE foods" that kids could understand. "Organic" doesn't work anymore, because most of the food labeled "organic" in the grocery stores, although it might have been grown without chemicals, has been genetically modified. "Natural food" doesn't work because it is a marketing term which has been consistently misused for decades to sell food which barely qualifies as natural. Then we came across the TrueFoods.org web site. Concerned consumers should check it out. Bottom line: I try to buy everything I can from local producers, but when there is no GE free alternative, I will purchase imports from Europe where (so far) GE is still taboo. Also, I look for the Oregon Tilth seal or California Certified Organic Food (CCOF) seal because these organizations seem to be more conscientious in protecting consumers.

For the cost-conscious among us (OK – I’m a penny-pincher!) I’d like to know why the fresh fruit at Farmers Markets often costs more than the same fruit from the same farm at the local grocery store.

For example, a pint of blueberries from Hurst’s Berry Farm for $1.99 at the farmers market or $1.49 at the store.

I’ve seen the same principle at play with Hood River Pears.

I'm sure the principle is widespread. The question is why.

Price at the supermarket is set by the store itself. The price paid to a local farmer is often extremely low because that farmer has to compete with lower price per pound offerings from other regions or countries. Stores can also offset the price of an item by charging more for another item. Many local farms are actually excluded from the local supermarket chains, often because the purchasing decisions at those stores comes from an out of state purchasing agent. Expansion of the UGB also increases the cost because it pushes urban areas into traditionally agricultural regions, which comes with a host of increased regulations, jursidictional requirements, and often a loss of productivity due to new environmental pressures. In fact, for most farmers, the markets are more of a marketing opportunity than a real sale, so even if the cost is higher at the market, it is really costing the farmer more to be there.

One way agriculture in Oregon can change to accommodate localized consumption is by bringing it into our backyards... literally. My next door neighbor has founded City Garden Farms (http://www.citygardenfarms.com) and is literally turning our 1/3 acre yard into part of his network of urban organic farms. Yards, lots, and plots all over the city of Portland are being turned into farms, feeding the people who live on and near those lots. Customers in the city can purchase a subscription to the farm, entitling them to a fresh basket of local, seasonal, healthy, organic produce a week. In addition, the closest farmers market to us is less than 2 miles away, ensuring that the leftover crops from our yards goes to feed our neighbors.

The most obvious conclusion to "eating more local", is growing more of your own food, and preparing it more from scratch. Your own backyard, porch, and kitchen are as local as cultivation and production get. If you refuse to give up coffee, bananas, and chocolate, you can atleast offset your carbon foot print with oyster mushrooms growing in your coffee grounds, dwarf apple trees in pots on your porch, fresh sprouts on your kitchen counter... the list goes on much longer than you might think.

Absolutely! Grow your own food, and teach your children to do so. For more information on growing your own food (even on an apartment deck), watch GO GREEN at 6:30 on Saturday, April 19th, Channel 2 (KATU). This special features local people who are growing food for themselves and their neighbors, and making a difference by teaching others how to do the same.

I am actively trying to eat more locally this year. My husband and I are turning the majority of our .25 acre property into a garden growing heirloom and non-genetically modified organic vegetables from a oregon based seed and plant company. Not only am I monitoring everything I consume, but everything my food consumes. Thanks to our well and very rich soil, this will be an affordable alternative to rising food prices.

With luck and hard work we will eat well this summer, and have enough to can, freeze and cool store crops to supplement our winter diet. I look forward to teaching my young son how vegetables should taste.

It is only the size of my garden that has changed. Even when I lived in a Portland apartment, my patio and living room were full of plants.

The food industry seems to get a disproportionate amount of attention, which many people have alluded to here. It would certainly be preferable for much of our food to be "local," but this clearly depends on how efficient it is to grow in the climate of your area, what can be grown and how much.

I have a certain repulsion to the trendiness of this however. I am a vegetarian and eat mostly organic and generally find myself in restaurants that support local farms, but I find it disturbing when people announce this to the world as if it was a badge of honor. I also find militant vegetarians uninteresting.

It is a tad ironic to be sitting at a local local-restaurant on a chair from IKEA. At the local local-restaurant Bijou, the owner no longer allows straws because they are bad for the environment. Clearly this type of thinking is irrational, it would be better to close the restaurant down entirely to stop the pollution of people getting there. If these half-baked lopsided ideas put people like me off, I can hardly imagine what they must do to people who are already disinterested. At the same time I appreciate that people are trying to make a difference.

-Portland, Oregon

It's an exciting time right now in Portland for local food. We have so many options to eat local. Vibrant farmers markets run nearly every day of the week in the city and more opening each year. Even year round farmers markets like Hillsdale Farmers Market. Community Supported Agriculture is thriving here. This is where you can buy a 'subscription' to a farm's produce for one growing season. The subscribers pay at the beginning of the year for a season's worth of produce. 47th Avenue Farms has been around for years growing in the Woodstock neighborhood. Sunroots is a new, bike based CSA on multiple sites around the city.

This idea of growing food in the city is becoming a real option for more and more people looking to eat very local. I have started a business called City Garden Farms here in Portland that is based on the concept of growing intensively in the city. We grow very intensively to pull as much vegetable out of the smallest spaces possible. This technique is a much more efficient use of land than those used in conventional farming. It makes me believe that we really can eat very locally for many items for most of the year. I believe that we are going to start seeing more and more of our food marketed by how many miles it has traveled..."food miles". Local is getting smaller.

Dan