Help your local economy: Buy local food

"If those people in southeastern Minnesota bought just 15 percent of their food from local sources, it would generate two-thirds as much income as all the region's farmers receive from subsidies."

The Economics of Local Food

Jane Black
All We Can Eat blog
Washington Post

You feel pretty virtuous when you buy local food. It's fresher, maybe even more nutritious, proponents say. Now advocates are pushing another selling point: Local food strengthens the economy. It keeps money in local communities and helps create jobs, which in turn can help reduce crime.

Wow. And you thought all you were getting was a really good peach.

Sarah DeWeerdt rounds up the facts about local food and economic development in a new, excellent article in World Watch. The money farmers earn goes in large part to buy seeds, animal feed and fertilizers from outside the region. In southeast Minnesota, farmers spend $996 million to grow $912 million worth of crops. Similar patterns are found in Iowa, Arizona and Washington.

Producing local food could change that, DeWeerdt reports. If those people in southeastern Minnesota bought just 15 percent of their food from local sources, it would generate two-thirds as much income as all the region's farmers receive from subsidies.

If the population in and around Seattle bought 20 percent of their food dollars at local businesses, it would inject an extra billion dollars each year into the local economy.

(More here.)