Interesting book review from someone who believes the local food movement is really more about middle class arrogance than security:
Through their purchases, these consumers are consciously seeking to affirm and demarcate themselves from the rest of society. Those who purchase ethically believe that they are more ethical than those who don’t. The chapter in The Table Comes First where Gopnik tries to eat only locally sourced food – bashing a few tenets of those who promote a locavore’s life – is a particular treat with regard to this.
Now obviously, the British are entirely class conscious folks… and no, I’m not sure the hamburger “slaughtered lovingly” as written in this review is any different than the Angus cow slaughtered routinely and sold for three times the amount of what you’d buy at a supermarket.
…but is it arrogance? Is it narcissism?
I can’t deny that there’s an element of this in the local foods movement. For my own sake, it is more about putting the land I have to good use, supplementing my own table with what I can grow on my own land, and teaching my children that food doesn’t come from a McDonald’s or a plastic bag.
Is there a certain self-respect in that? Probably. Does it mean I’m better than everyone else? Not hardly… gardeners are probably the first to encourage fellow gardeners in varieties of seeds, methods of growing and planting, and above all else sharing what they know. Gardeners can be some of the most humble, selfless individuals you’d ever want to meet — especially if there’s varieties of seed to trade.
Artisans might be another matter, and when artistry meets food, that’s a different story. Then again… that’s called marketing. Isn’t that what some of us are running from anyhow?