pat garrity on local foods
DESCRIPTION
at Plain Green Conference 2009TRANSCRIPT
Local Foods Your Environment
Modern agriculture is dependant on economics of scale. All commodity crops
are produced on the principle of lower input costs to achieve the most yield possible. This system is completely
dependant on a stable and cheap supply of fossil fuel. The system has worked
extremely well for 60 years. Food costs are very low by historical standards.
Lately, some issues have started to surface about this system!!
The current industrial food system is using 18% of our total US oil consumption.
The water and soil around our country is showing signs of contamination, such as the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico. The soil erosion is getting worse every year as we monocrop our farms. The ultra-
high concentration of animals in Concentrated Animal Feeder Operations
(CAFO) is also causing ecological problems such as fish kills and excess
harmful pathogens in the soil.
The Midwest imports 97% of the food we eat!We are in the middle of the best agricultural
land in the world and most of our food travels 1500 miles to reach our table.
We are convinced strawberries should be available all year and do not question the environmental impact of this consumption. As long as food businesses offer us $1.00 menus, why do we care how they do it?
Our preference for quality food or responsible stewardship of the
environment is really controlled by money.
Business EnvironmentUnited States
Gross Expenditures on Food $444,000,000,000
South DakotaGross Expenditures on Food
$1,466,098,125
Regional Gross Expenditures on Food
Sioux Falls $432,609,375 Rapid City $314,964,375Brookings $115,106,250 Aberdeen $113,891,250Vermillion $106,745,625 Pierre $100,023,750Watertown $99,380,625 Huron $74,295,000
What factors influence your food purchasing decision ?
1) Low Prices2) Convenience3) Flavor4) Healthy / Safe Food 5) Animal Welfare 6) Worker Welfare7) Ecological Impact 8) Transparency 9) Sustainable Farms10) Organic Production
# 1Price
Lower Wages Limited Benefits Out-flow of dollars from the community Increase production units Source inputs from lowest cost provider Apply economics of scale to production Replace human energy with fossil fuel Replace nutrient inputs with fossil fuel Distribution reliant on fossil fuel
#2 Convenience
Many of us make our food choices on easy access, short term decisions and
perceived time constraints. The current food industry has convinced us
time is more important than nutrition, enjoyment of food or social interaction
while dining.
#3 Flavor – Taste
It is interesting we choose short term satisfaction over so many other factors.
Flavor is so important food companies spend millions in research to study how
people react to various additives to increase product consumption.
# 4Healthy / Safe Food
Concerns about food borne illnesses, heart disease, diabetes and obesity have made food safety a much greater concern. As our food system becomes centralized and highly processed, our health is
deteriorating.
# 5Animal Welfare
Many large meat producers are very concerned about how their production
practices are perceived.The current production practices and
product quality of large confinement operations are beginning to experience
consumer resistance.
# 6Worker Welfare
Who is the labor force providing the food on our plate? It is interesting we place
animal welfare ahead of humans. Do we feel that people have freedom of choice and animals do not? Do the agricultural workers in our system have reasonable
working conditions? Do the workers providing your food have reasonable
working conditions?
# 7Ecological Impact
Pollution, petroleum consumption, erosion, climate change, pesticide contamination and consumer waste are all non-issues
to the majority of the consumers. Do you think about any these factors when you
purchase food?
Many local farmers, environmentalists, animal welfare advocates, locavores, Slow Food
movement advocates, Buy Fresh Buy Local proponents and many others see a different
path. Eating local food connects the consumer with the
farmer. The food becomes artisan, as individual as the producer. The food is not ultra-processed into unhealthy products.
The farmers are producing under sustainable practices which replenishes the soil as it
produces diverse crops. Many farmers are practicing organic methods, some certified
organic. The food is healthy, whole and nutritious.
Education Campaigns
The first phase to bring local foods back to the community is education. An organized effort with clear goals and
objectives must be planned, local champions identified, financial budgets prepared and a plan of
work prepared.
The traditional questions must be addressed:WhoWhat
WhereWhenWhy
“Buy Fresh Buy Local”FoodRoutes Network is the lead organization responsible
for the format and continuity of the state and regional chapters.
Local Foods
New opinions often appear first as jokes and fancies,
then as blasphemies and treason, then as questions open to discussion,
and finally as established truths.
George Bernard Shaw