Reason #3 for Eating Local Food

Food Security

Over the last year, as we bought only the best and freshest local produce, we were reminded of the dangers of a centralized, industrial food system.

During the first months of our project, during peak tomato season, consumers throughout the United States and Canada were being advised not to eat tomatoes as a salmonella outbreak continued for over 6 months. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has linked 1,442 cases of illness to this contamination. It was later discovered that serrano peppers, not tomatoes, were to blame – this illustrates the challenge of tracking and managing (and investigating) such an outbreak through a centralized food system.

In January of this year, we got another taste of salmonella; this time it was traced to peanut butter. Though the processing plant responsible for the contamination was quickly identified, the sheer number of brands and products included in the recall reached across school cafeterias, snack foods, meal replacement bars and more.

Food safety is always an expectation, and the failing of our system to prevent such widespread foodborne illness is a clear message that we can't trust factory farms and the centralized distribution model to ensure safety, regardless of the economy of scale they offer.

Buying locally has spared us these worries, and that alone is a huge reward.

But food security is also about the regional availability of food. When Hurricane Ike devastated the Gulf Coast on September 13, 2008, many Houston residents went as long as three weeks without electricity. Just three days after the Hurricane, the first farmers' market reopened, giving us access to fresh food once again. In contrast, most supermarkets in the area remained bare for another week, as it took time to restore normal distribution of perishable food items.

We've discovered both the obvious and subtle ways in which a local food economy enhances a community's access to safe, healthy and abundant food. Have you?