CHALLENGING THE CLAIMS OF LOCAVORES

For several years, activists and policymakers have promoted a wide range of local food initiatives. Many of these have been unsuccessful or have experienced significant problems. These problems were unavoidable because the approaches promoted by local food activists (also known as locavores) (re)created the problems that had historically motivated the development of modern agricultural production practices and of the globalized food supply chain. By promoting the increased production of local food that does not offer a compelling quality/price ratio while shunning modern production and processing technologies, activists ensure that our food supply will become more expensive, environmentally damaging, and hazardous to our health than is presently the case. This is because their prescription is based on five myths.