In recent years, the local food movement has gained a lot of attention for its commitment to promoting sustainability through direct-to-consumer sales. Through processing, distribution and consumption, the goal of any regional food network is to reduce the ecological footprint left by industrial agricultural practices, while supporting local producers who must compete within the larger economy. Despite its challenges, purchasing locally grown foods can help people make more informed purchases through developing relationships with farmers, particularly in community-supported agriculture. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The local food movement has been brought to prominence by a number of notable people. Michael Pollan was probably the most influential, with The Ominvore's Dilemma in 2006 pointing out that people could eat locally without it being overly expensive and how little we actually knew about what we were eating. This followed Eric Schlosser's Fast Food Nation, which in 2001 revealed some of the horrific practices associated with industrial agriculture. Barbara Kingsolver's 2007 Animal, Vegetal, Miracle helped bring the idea of ​​buying local to a wider audience, as she was already a famous writer. This followed the organic food movement, which had been developing for decades. The organic food movement had a lot in common with the local food movement, and people developed an attachment to the idea that it was better food. But this was co-opted by industrial agricultural practices, and when national standards for organic foods were established in 2002, it wasn't all that different from industrial foods. Local doesn't just mean how far your food travels. It is as much, if not more, about the means and methods used to grow that food. In some cases, Chilean tomatoes may have a lower carbon footprint than tomatoes available on the agricultural market. But they are generally grown in huge tomato fields that have been cut out of the rainforest, transported on roads that pass through once-healthy ecosystems, and produced by low-paid workers in near-indentured servitude. Locally sourced food is often “synonymous with small farms engaged in social and economic relationships” (Martinez et al. 4) that reduce the use of products such as “synthetic chemicals and energy-based fertilizers” and “limit residues of chemicals and pesticides on food". ”.A food label is a tool that helps consumers discern the nutritional value of a particular product. In 2016, a study conducted on the effectiveness of food labels in health prevention outlined their purpose: "it reports composition, ingredients and relative quantities, informs on quality, origin, processing and conservation". Because people often think of food labels in these terms, it's easy for them to believe the additional nutrition claims on them. But most health claims on food labels are a marketing tool, with little evidence to support them. It is often highly processed foods with long ingredient lists that are labeled this way, which takes away consumers' "opportunity to consciously choose what to buy." The best way to make an informed decision about a food purchase is to be in direct contact with the manufacturer of that product; a local grower isobservable. You can walk onto their land, check out their fields, and call them to see how this year's harvest went. People can get to know the farmer who produces their food, because “the product reaches the consumer integrated with information, for example through package labeling or personal communication”. If people know their farmer, the label doesn't matter. If they don't know their farmer, the label doesn't help, but they can visit the farm or join a CSA, and find out how to make a more informed purchase. At any farmers market, there will be food raised using a variety of growing methods: produce can be organic or pesticide-free while animal products can be pastured or kept in cages. Just like at the supermarket, people should make sure the food they buy meets their standards. Going to the farmers market does not necessarily mean “better” and “local” only indicates some properties of that food. There are organic products from the supermarket and organic products from the farmer's market; the idea is that if people abandon their reliance on one-word labels, they can create their own food consciousness, which is made easier by direct contact with producers. Joining a CSA is the best way to source locally sourced food at a meaningful level and at a reasonable price. With a CSA, the consumer pays the farmer upfront for the entire season, and each week the farmer makes a delivery of produce. Each week the farmer decides what to get and how much of each, based on what was harvested that week. The concept is that the consumer shares the risk with the farmer. Because the money is upfront, it can be used for seed and preparatory investments, unlike the conventional model that requires the farmer to take on debt and then risk financial ruin in a bad year. If there is a drought or other problem, consumers simply get their share of the smaller reward. In a normal or good year, they tend to get an incredible amount of food. For low-income consumers, joining a CSA can be problematic. In 2017, an intervention study examined the impact of community-supported agriculture on children's diets and found that low-income families were often discouraged from participating due to the “upfront payment structure…”. For this reason, the U.S. Department of Agriculture conducted a case study on a business model that sought to further consider low-income CSA shareholders: “Farmer Dave's CSA is a program based in Boston, Massachusetts, which attempts to bring CSA shares to residents of low-income neighborhoods.” Through this program, low-income and marginalized people could become shareholders through a sliding scale model, “[where] partners help collect weekly equity payments and process EBT payments for programs like Snap that can be used to make weekly payments instead of one. -seasonal payments”. While this model is not widely implemented, it demonstrates that steps are being taken to ensure a CSA-inclusive future for low-income consumers, who struggle to incorporate healthy foods into their diets. There are some downsides, especially with a CSA, to buying local food. Eating locally means there will be a limitation of choice; many foods will only be available for very short periods of the year. During the winter, people may be limited to a small range of crops, as well as preserved or stored foods. There will be some foods they won't get.