What does it mean to be "local"?

[turil.livejournal.com]

Somerville's got it's Local First organization helping to promote diversity and sustainability by encouraging people to "buy local", but what does that mean? And how do you know if something that claims to be local is or not?

What, specifically, do we want "local" to mean when it comes to the economy and business in Somerville? And what is it about bringing more "local" exchanges into Somerville that is so beneficial?

Comments

[turil.livejournal.com]

I ask because I'm working on a project/organization to promote local commerce specifically focused on creating more sustainable and healthy communities, and I'm interested in knowing what to highlight and encourage as the project moves into beta testing stage.

[teele-sq.livejournal.com]

where can i get some locally made unscented candles?

[redcolumbine.livejournal.com]

My reasons and methods for buying local tend to center around patronizing independent businesses, rather than grab-n-go chains, because the profits stay in the community. That said, I'm very glad Market Basket is at least Eastern Mass local, because I'm a wage-earner and can't always afford to be as conscientious a consumer as I'd like to be.

[m00n.livejournal.com]

Just going to throw my two cents in here: I know that money can be hard to come by today, and so it can seem especially insensitive to insist that someone pay more for something when they have the option of paying less, but I am going to put this out there anyway:

Americans expect to pay far too little for our food. Seriously. We spend about a third less for our food than the whole rest of the modern democratic world, and mainly what it has gotten us is a lot of highly processed and unsafe, factory-farmed food. A gallon of milk should cost more than $3.50 and a pound of fish definitely shouldn't cost $3.99.

[turil.livejournal.com]

Well, technically, most of the cheap stuff that you can buy in the food stores isn't food. It's more like filler. Empty calories, with no real nutritional value. I think most people realize that real food does cost more money, but that they are willing to settle for filler for less money, most of the time.

way to win people to your cause

[enochs-fable.livejournal.com]

The Mayo Clinic (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/organic-food/NU00255) among other authorities have indicated that currently Nutrition. No conclusive evidence shows that organic food is more nutritious than is conventionally grown food. And the USDA — even though it certifies organic food — doesn't claim that these products are safer or more nutritious.

I happen to think organic farming is an excellent idea for a multiplicity of reasons, but don't trot out sweeping claims like that unless you can support them.

Plenty of people cannot, in fact, afford to consistently buy organic food.

Are you confused?

[turil.livejournal.com]

Who are you replying to? I never mentioned organic food at all.

Though clearly with non-organic food the problem is more in the toxic stuff that gets added than in things getting taken away. But those studies are also potentially flawed in that they usually test factory farmed stuff that's been certified organic, as opposed to stuff that is grown in a fully organic process that includes attention to soil health and such, since a carrot raised in healthy, living soil that has plenty of minerals and such will be far healthier than a carrot raised in a dead soil that is depleted of most of it's nutrients, regardless of whether or not it has synthetic chemicals put on it. So really, it's not the "organic" label that makes food healthy, it's a healthy environment that makes it healthy, and being just picked, and being allowed to grow to maturity before picking, and so on.

[gruene.livejournal.com]

Uh, What?

I go shopping at Market Basket where, generally speaking, I will pay 99 cents or less per pound for any kind of fruit or vegetable. (A few things that are more unusual are a bit more expensive.) The other things I buy there are bread, eggs, milk, tortillas, cereal and cheese. Which one of these are "Empty calories, with no real nutritional value"? I'd like to know.

[gruene.livejournal.com]

Heh. I guess your talking about everything in between the produce aisle on one end of the store and the dairy aisle on the other. I rarely go into those.

I guess my point is that, at least in Somerville, it is possible to eat healthily at an affordable price. You won't be getting organic, local produce, but you don't need to fork over half your income at "Whole Paycheck" to get nutritious and tasty ingredients.

[turil.livejournal.com]

Yep. Mostly. Though I'm not even going over into the animal products isle, either. You don't need all that fat and protein. :-)

[boblothrope.livejournal.com]

I've been eating much healthier since I discovered Market Basket and its produce aisle. When I used to shop at Star Market, I didn't buy a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables because of the prices.

Market Basket is also slowly improving their organic and healthy food offerings.

[redcolumbine.livejournal.com]

You are absolutely correct. But by making the assumptions that underlie this post (that I'm just making token gestures and don't really give a hoot) and banging the gavel, you represent the outlook that makes even trying, when one can't be perfect, seem worse than giving up, and hurts your cause.

Cutting folks some slack - say, proposing group-buying alternatives, listing sources for bargains on ethically-produced food, or recommending resources for affordable cooking with less damaging ingredients - pulls people in, rather than driving them out with "you're not good enough."

[gruene.livejournal.com]

Who pays $3.50 for milk? :p

Large federal subsidies paid to grain producers keep the price of meat and dairy artificially low.

[jadelennox]

I buy local for the profits stay in the community, because I think a healthy community has a mix of residential, retail, manufacturing, and service sectors. I think expecting the you can easily get strawberries in March is ridiculous, and I don't understand buying California apples in Massachusetts in October. I think having strict labor laws in this country and then having people buy goods that are artificially cheap because other countries don't share our labor laws is counterproductive.

But I also understand that I am relatively privileged to be able to make this choice, so I use my privilege and don't condemn others for not having the financial wherewithal to make the same choices i do.

local versus non-local

[petula73.livejournal.com]

Hi,

I think this site does a really good job of explaining the benefits, especially the part about the money staying in the community.

http://www.the350project.net/home.html

Re: local versus non-local

[turil.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I was more looking for people's personal ideas about it. You know, the local perspective of "local". :-)

[bobobb.livejournal.com]

I buy locally for completely selfish reasons. I own a house and I want the value to go up and the value will go up if I live in a community with cute boutiques, quality restaurants and fun bars. Therefore if I spend my money here I increase the odds of those shops staying in business and my community being a nice one. I realize people think that their money won't make much of a difference, but I worked retail for two years at a small shop and every cent counted.

Somerville Local First member requirements

[somlocal1st.livejournal.com]

Hi there,

Glad that so many of you are discussing the 'local' issue. To add some depth to the discussion, I thought it might be helpful to share our membership criteria. SLF is an open organization, but to join, members must be able to answer YES to ALL of the questions below. They are the standard for many of the over 130 networks like us across the country.

Also, we know we could do a better job on the web and elsewhere to let people know about things like this...we're working on it.

For now, know that any business in Somerville that displays our decal has qualified under our guidelines.

For further info, you may want to check out: http://www.10percentshift.org for more details on the benefits that Local Independents provide.

Joe
SLF


1. My business is independent and privately held (not publicly traded).
2. The business owners, totaling greater than 50% of the business ownership, live in Massachusetts
3. My business is based locally and has no corporate or national headquarters outside the state.
4. My business can make independent decisions regarding the name and look of the business, as well as all business purchasing practices and distribution.
5. My business pays all marketing, rent, and other business expenses without assistance from a corporate headquarters.