also, for obvious reasons, good eating has been the domain of people who can afford to live by such morals, and who have access to the resources (time + education) to really understand the multi-faceted importance of it.

i am desperately interested in figuring out how to strip that exclusively identity from local food, but it’s a case of much easier said than done. it’s like being a democratic presidential nominee, trying to crack jokes with a bunch of construction workers about how hard it is to earn a living wage. well, maybe not that bad…

In terms of my trajectory: I went vegetarian at age 19 after taking two college courses – one on nutrition and one on environmental sciences (I’m 34 now, so its been 15 years). They convinced me that eating lower on the food chain is 1) both better for our planet, and 2) a better use of food resources. I do eat fish & seafood occasionally and have been known to cheat entirely—and I do not expect those around me to also eat like me. I didn’t know about the “eating local” thing until a few years ago but that seemed a natural next step once I learned a more about it.

As for the charges of elitism:

- It is not elitist to want to give your money to small farmers who are mostly operating outside the corporate system rather than to corporations. I also am wary of Whole Foods, but they DO buy from small farmers, which is a step in the right direction.

- It is not elitist to want to ameliorate the effects of global warming which are going to have the biggest impact on the poor of the Global South (whether due to ocean flooding or increased desertification).

But, I do think the charges are worth examining—and I think the key is to avoid Tsk-Tsking of other people’s food choices and/or looking down on those who don’t eat local/organic. Some of my family members used to imply that it was elitist, saying that poor farmers don’t care about agro-chemical use— not true! I’ve spent a good bit of time in a region of Brazil impacted by export-oriented monoculture agriculture and I can tell you that the small farmers are concerned because they see the impacts of the chemicals on themselves and their living environment. They also get sick from the toxics—so caring about the use of chemicals is not just a selfish concern for oneself but a concern for others as well. I do think the local food movement does need to address issues of access—but that is a bigger issue of social equity and not just a problem of the local food movement

Happy eating!

PS: I suggest folks read Mark Winne’s, Closing the Food Gap: Resetting the Table in the Land of Plenty– a good read in regards to these issues.