Local Sustainability
Once upon a time, most of our daily goods were sourced locally. Now, thanks to exploitatively low wages and crazy global trade rules, it's usually cheaper for supermarkets to import apples from Asia instead of from their own states. Some food is even air-freighted! Not only does this use tons of gas and create gobs of pollution — it also puts local farmers out of business. Imagine America without farms.
There's nothing wrong with some international trade, and sensible, fair trade can be a very good thing for development. However, local companies have an interest in contributing to their town. They keep money circulating in their communities. And they're the ones who know your name. Support them.
Oil can't last forever. One day we're going to need producers closer to home.
Here are some web resources we like. But don’t stop there, start asking around about the possibilities in your community. Talk to people, explore and see what’s near by.
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Local Harvest A national listing of places to get local food, from farmer’s markets to restaurants to CSA’s. |
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Food Routes An excellent site that helps explain why it’s so important to buy local food. |
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The 100 Mile Diet These guys started out trying to only eat products grown within a 100 mile radius for one year. They ended up forming a movement. Join them. |
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Slow Food Triangle The Slow Food Movement is on a global mission to protect and revive quality, artisan food and regional distinctiveness. For those in the Triangle region of North Carolina, Slow Food Triangle have put together some great resources for finding local food, as well as a full calendar of events celebrating our region's wonderful producers. |
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Bioregional Development Group This cool UK-based charity develops innovative, modern solutions for local supply of almost anything - from localized, closed-loop paper recycling, to regional networks of charcoal producers. They're also helping build huge 'One Planet Living' communities on every continent - we guess they're kind of the globalizers of localization. |