Local Food: Revolution and Reality

Abstract

Abstract A food revolution is emerging in America out of growing concerns about obesity and other diet-related health problems. The revolution is most visible today in the local food movement, which is a continuation of the organic food movement, which in turn has its roots in the natural food movement of the 1960s. The revolution is spreading through and beyond mainstream food markets, taking a variety of forms and structures in the process of creating a new sustainable food network of local food systems. KEYTERMS: local foodsnatural foodsorganic foodssustainable agriculture Acknowledgments This presentation was given as a part of a plenary panel on local food at the 12th Biennial Conference of the United States Agricultural Information Network, "Agriculture without Borders," at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana on May 11, 2010.Dr. Ikerd is Professor Emeritus of Agricultural Economics at the University of Missouri, Columbia. Notes 1. For a list of peer review scientific studies documenting the health benefits of natural foods, see The Organic Center (http://www.organic-center.org/). 2. For more information, see Farm to School (http://www.farmtoschool.org), and Farm to College (http://farmtocollege.org); and for case studies, see Agriculture of the Middle (http://www.agofthemiddle.org/archives/2004/09/case_studies.html).