Eating locally is a growing movement that is good for your health--but even better for the planet.
Everyone everywhere depends increasingly on long-distance food. Since 1961 the tonnage of food shipped between
nations has grown fourfold. In the United States, food typically travels between 1,500 and 2,500 miles from farm
to plate--as much as 25 percent farther than in 1980. For some, the long-distance food system offers unparalleled
choice. But it often runs roughshod over local cuisines, varieties, and agriculture, while consuming staggering
amounts of fuel, generating greenhouse gases, eroding the pleasures of face-to-face interactions, and compromising
food security. Fortunately, the long-distance food habit is beginning to weaken under the influence of a young,
but surging, local-foods movement. From peanut-butter makers in Zimbabwe to pork producers in Germany and rooftop
gardeners in Vancouver, entrepreneurial farmers, start-up food businesses, restaurants, supermarkets, and concerned
consumers are propelling a revolution that can help restore rural areas, enrich poor nations, and return fresh,
delicious, and wholesome food to cities.