What is Local?

Why Do you buy local food products?

You care about freshness. The closer to you that your food was grown, the less time in transit and the fresher it is right? You also care about things like food sovereignty/security, care for the environment we share, and accountability I imagine. If you share any of those concerns then I can relate.

But what makes something local? If you live in Albany, is it Albany’s surrounding area? Is it the mid-valley? Oregon? I was thinking about this while at a local farm store where in the cooler they had “Local Grassfed” lamb. Upon inspection of the package, I saw that it was processed (and most likely grown) in Roseburg, three hours away. Is that local? It’s a far cry better than lamb I can find in the grocery store that surely either comes from Australia or New Zealand.

So what I’ve come to understand is that “Local” is a sliding scale. Where the best we can do is homegrown, and at the other end of the spectrum is what we sometimes have to do, buy from wherever the heck grocery store food comes from.

Let me propose a value that possibly trumps “local” for most of those points above. Accountability.

What do I know of that “local” lamb in the cooler? The label says the local farm store it was posted in, and they don’t raise lamb. How do I know it was completely grass-fed? What do I know of the farmer and his/her ethics/standards? Will they stand by their word?

What I’ve learned that many of you are looking for, just as I was before starting my own farm, is a connection with your food more than abstract labels. You want to be able to follow along, know the farmer, know the food.

If you’ve read this, then that’s probably why you’re here. Sign up for my email list, follow along on social, or both, and I hope to provide that for you.