Locavore backlash: Amy Stewart cries 'not fair!' on NPR

1-08-2008 @6:17PM llocher said... As a big fan of Amy's garden writing, I was so bummed when I heard this story. I guess there's two things: one is believing in and living the eating local movement, and the second is talking about it. I've learned so much in talking about it with friends: for many of us, it's such a new way of thinking and eating, or reminds us of our grandparents, it's just rich with stories and helpful ideas to share. So I like the pass-along aspect of it. It's too bad Amy saw it as boring. I guess it's like all things in the media: if you don't like it, you can always turn the channel.
Reply

1-08-2008 @6:47PM Muffin said... I'm pretty tired of the locovore craziness, myself.

Sure, its awesome that people are taking an advanced interest in what they're eating, and its nifty that they're trying to eat local to support local economy and small businesses. Its the snobbery that goes along with it that bothers me.

Just reading the comments to the post on here about what people were eating for NYE dinner. LAUGHABLE. It was as though people felt they needed to use as many adjectives to describe their food as they possibly could! Its great that you bought the tomatoes at the farmers market, but YOU DON'T HAVE TO WAX POETIC ABOUT IT!

*unruffles feathers*

I know, I know.. foodies around the world are in an uproar because someone called them out. Its just a taste of their own, snobby, medicine.
Reply

1-08-2008 @6:53PM Rob Brooks-Bilson said... I like locally procuced stuff, and try to make use of it whenever I can. However, I do think some people are taking things a bit far. To add to things, I live in Phoenix, where if we were to stick strictly to locally grown items, we would be missing out on a lot of variety. To make matters worse, even the stuff that is grown locally isn't (for the most part) native to Arizona, and requires a LOT of irrigation and fertilization, both of which I would guess have more of a negative impact on the environment than trucking in our veggies from CA.
Reply

1-08-2008 @9:19PM Tamer Brad said... Sarah, you certainly sounded bitter writing this piece.
Reply

1-27-2008 @2:07PM jen maiser said... Hi there -

We put together a response to that piece that can be found at the Eat Local Challenge Blog:

http://www.eatlocalchallenge.com/2008/01/shut-up-eat.html
Reply

1-09-2008 @5:57AM Tracy Williams said... What's wrong about caring for the animals for the animals sake? Why does it always have to be about us and our selfish desires? Treating animals badly reflects on all of us as a society, and if it results in foodborne illness, well, that's just what we deserve.
Reply

1-09-2008 @8:10AM Hans said... I think the problem most people have with many locavores is the fact that eating local doesn't necessarily mean you're getting high-quality foods, nor does it necessarily mean that you're reducing the impact on the environment. I think too many locavores assume that it's a clear-cut issue when it's not.

NYT had a great (if brief) article on this very idea recently.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/09/business/yourmoney/09feed.html

And Tracy, eating local does not necessarily mean that you're eating meat that has been well-treated.

Case in point, dairy cows and sheep raised in Europe are usually fed concentrated, processed feeds during the winter months when grazing is impossible. Yet dairy products and sheep from New Zealand come from animals that are generally able to graze outdoors year-round. Is it better for the animal to graze naturally or for it to be fed processed feedstock?

Not only that, but a study from the University of Christchurch (It may have been a different university) found that because New Zealand's agriculture is much less dependent on energy-intensive fertilizers than Europe, the total energy footprint for foodstuffs produced in NZ and shipped to Europe is actually less than foodstuffs produced in Europe, even when taking transport costs into account.
Reply

1-09-2008 @9:21AM Jon said... Factory farms are a disaster for the environment, for animal rights, and for the health of the consumer. Meat from traditionally-raised animals is better in all three ways. Generally, this means that meat from a small farm is better than meat from a large corporate farming operation. The small farm doesn't need to be local, but it's much easier to find a humane local farm than one across the country or across the world. So in general, the more local a farm is, the better it is for the environment, the animal, and the people eating the meat.

Buying local also keeps money in the local economy. When I buy strawberries from the farmer's market, that money stays in the Boston area. If I were to buy strawberries from California, the money effectively disappears, and doesn't do my area any good. If I buy strawberries from Chile, I'm contributing to the trade deficit and sending my money out of the country. Of the three options, only the local strawberries benefit my community. It's bad for the country for all our food to be grown in a few areas, and even worse if those areas are outside the US. That's yet another reason to buy locally whenever possible.
Reply

1-09-2008 @11:47AM leavesofjoy said... I heard this piece on NPR, and my thought was of the irony of Amy Stewart being so rankled by concerns about where our food comes from, when her recent book, Flower Confidential, is concerned with the same issues regarding the cut flower industry.

I guess if you're concerned about what you put on your table as decoration, that's worthy of a book, but if your concern is about what you eat at that table, that's worthy of snarky commentary and derision.
Reply

1-09-2008 @12:23PM Amber said... While I think it certainly isn't a bad thing to eat local, I too am getting sick and tired of reading about exactly where they are getting their food. Perhaps if it was just that without the "I'm spending so much money to do this, and my budget is soooooo tight because I'm buying local, but aren't I just so much more morally and ethically better than everyone else who doesn't buy everything local?" crap, I wouldn't mind as much. Yep, it's that I'm a better person than you are attitude that irks me.
Reply

1-09-2008 @3:19PM Darryl said... Fourth verse, same as the first: I have no problem with the "locavore" trend (much as the term itself is an eye-roller), but the snobbery that tends to go along with it is intolerable. There's too much of that attitude in the foodie world in general, but with the rise of organic this and artisinal that, it seems to have reached a fever pitch lately. Grow your own herbs, buy from farmers' markets, eat your locally cured pork or free-range peaches or whatever, just get off your high horse about it.
Reply