152 animal, vegetable, miracle
it out of town to a corporate bank account far away. Where I grew up,
we used to call that “carpetbagging.” Now it seems to be called the Amer-
ican way.
Marketing jingles from every angle lure patrons to turn our backs on
our locally owned stores, restaurants, and farms. And nobody considers
that unpatriotic. This appears to aggravate Tod Murphy. “We have the il-
lusion of consumer freedom, but we’ve sacrificed our community life for
the pleasure of purchasing lots of cheap stuff. Making and moving all that
stuff can be so destructive: child labor in foreign lands, acid rain in the
Speaking Up
The increased availability of local food in any area is a direct function of the
demand from local consumers. Most of us are not accustomed to asking about
food origins, but it’s easy enough to do.
First: in grocery stores, when the cashier asks if you found everything you
were looking for, you could say, “Not really, I was looking for local produce.” The
smaller the store, the more open a grocer may be to your request. Food co-ops
should be especially receptive. Restaurants may also be flexible about food pur-
chasing, and your exchanges with the waitstaff or owner can easily include
questions about which entrees or wines are from local sources. Restaurateurs
do understand that local food is the freshest available, and they’re powerful par-
ticipants in the growing demand for local foods. You can do a little homework in
advance about what’s likely to be available in your region.
Local and regional policymakers need to hear our wishes. Many forums are
appropriate for promoting local food: town and city hall meetings, school board
meetings, even state commissioner meetings. It makes sense to speak up about
any venue where food is served, or where leaders have some control over food
acquisition, including churches, social clubs, and day- care centers. Federal leg-
islators also need to hear about local food issues. Most state governments con-
sider farming- related legislation almost weekly. You can learn online about what
issues are being considered, to register your support for laws that help local
farms. In different parts of the country the specifics change, but the motives
don’t. As more people ask, our options will grow.STEVEN L. HOPP