Lentis/Local Food as a Social Movement

The farmer's market in Charlottesville, Va

The local food movement has mobilized many in support of its cause. Participants in this social movement are often called locavores, a term coined in 2005 for World Environment Day and named the Oxford American Dictionary word of the year in 2007.

This article seeks to examine the local food movement through social movement criteria developed by Eyerman and Jamison in 1991. The four criterion are the creation of a mission, the use of technology, the dissemination of new technology, and the creation of new roles.

Creation of a Mission

This refers to the formation of common ground among the members of the movement. The mission becomes the overarching goal of the movement and acts as the foundation for the participants.

History

In the early 1970s, President Nixon asked Agriculture Secretary Earl Butz to try to drive down the cost of food. Federal agriculture policy shifted to include subsidies for commodity crops. This lowered food prices and farmers needed increased yields to remain profitable. This led to deep depression in the farm belt followed by a brutal wave of consolidation. Large food manufacturers dominated the market, causing greater separation between the public and their food. Several movements motivated by public dissatisfaction with this separation united to form the local food movement.

This grassroots movement is made up of many smaller efforts to change how we produce and distribute food. These include the campaign against genetically modified crops, food safety regulation advocates, school lunch reform, the campaign for animal rights and welfare, and health concerned citizens. Joined together, as local food, these factions form a much more pervasive and “audible” social movement. For example FoodRoutes Network , organizer of the Buy Fresh Buy Local campaign, provides networking, advertising and mobilization of many of the aforementioned campaigns all under the name 'local food.'

Definition

Local food is produced in close proximity to consumers. Locavores are enthusiasts of the local food movement. "Local" can be based on a marketing relationship (i.e., that producers sell directly to consumers), or a geographical relationship. Although locavores initially popularized the "100-mile Radius", the USDA acknowledges a 400 mile radius as a true boundary of what can be called geographical "local" food.

Consumer Motivations for Buying Local

Local food establishes connections between consumers and producers. Supermarket retailing involves distribution from large corporate warehouses and is generally impartial and impersonal. Local food adds a human dimension, a means of connection between producers and consumers.

Supermarket food, on average, travels 1500 miles. Supermarket food usually contains preservatives, while local food generally has no added chemicals, comes directly from the farmer, and often tastes fresher.

Local food addresses environmental concerns as a less energy-intensive alternative. Agricultural systems consume about 1/5 of the total petroleum used as most food products are subject to some form of processing, including food packaging, transportation, pre-washing, etc. Local food is generally not packaged, travels fewer food-miles, and doesn't require as much processing.

Participants in the local food movement support local farmers. The average American farmer receives about $0.20 for each dollar they spend. Since 1979, the United States has lost around 300,000 farmers. Direct sales of local food allows farmers to remain financially viable by retaining higher profits.

Availability

Charlottesville, dubbed locavore capital of the world in 2011 by Forbes magazine, is full of local food restaurants, farmer's markets and many local food distributors. At PolyFace Farms consumers can pick their own produce. Radical Roots Farms is an example of community-supported agriculture, which involves taking out meat or produce shares from a farm. Consumers pay an upfront cost that provides capital for farmers. Local food is also found though intermediaries such as restaurants, retail grocery stores, and government institutions like hospitals and farm-to-school programs. For example the Chipotle in Charlottesville was the first of the chain to use pork and produce from a local farm.

Advocates and Opponents

The local food movement can be framed by its advocates and opponents.

Advocates include mostly grassroots groups because the movement is a coalescence of smaller related social movements. Community Food Advocates and the Slow Food Movement are major advocates, while individual farmers markets and families join together in smaller community settings to advocate for local food. The Charlottesville City Market is a major catalyst for the local food community. The University of Virginia Food Collaborative also plays a role in organizing community and students together in a unified mission to promote local foods. Government organizations like the National Resource Defense Council can protect the local food movement through their promotion of sustainable and healthy food sources.

Major opponents of the local food movement include companies with financial stakes in the food production market. This can include large farms, and food conglomerates like Monsanto. According to some analyses, transportation of local food is more inefficient; cross-specialization (i.e., large farms dedicated solely to one crop) would allow more food to be distributed to a growing population. Although local food proponents argue that producing food locally decreases transportation costs, a recent study found that 11% of energy costs are from transportation while 83% of the energy expended is from production, which can be less efficient at smaller family farms. If food is being produced locally, it will reduce business from international producers, who may depend on exports for profit.

The organic food movement is misaligned with the local food movement. Government restrictions on organic food are too tough for most local food producers.

Use of Technology

This includes the creation of new technologies, both systematic and technical, for use within the movement.

New Technologies

Two technologies developed in response to the movement are hoop houses and vertical hydroponics. Hoop houses are highly customizable alternatives to greenhouses, allowing small farmers to economically and efficiently remain competitive. Vertical hydroponics allows for the high density vertical growth of fruits and vegetables. Using this system, farmers can reap larger crop yields in otherwise restricted footprints.

Distribution Systems

Local food producers have diversified their distribution systems. For example, Whole Foods has shifted emphasis from organic to local foods. They spotlight local producers. Wal-Mart was the first supermarket to sell local food at its chains. Safeway, Kroger, and other supermarkets have followed suit. The advent of these systems has not only raises awareness, but also increases the prevalence of organizations that serve as middlemen between small producers and large consumers. The Local Food Hub in Charlottesville is an example of one of these organizations; it collects food from local growers to distribute to Charlottesville Public Schools, the UVA Hospital, and UVA Dining.

Dissemination of Information

A social movement needs to develop means of communication like the internet, advertisements, spoken word, pamphlets, etc.

Communication within the Local Food Movement

Farmers act as teachers, spreading information about unusual products, new recipes and interesting production processes. Chefs, like Wolfgang Puck, can be advocates for local food by making their menu from marketplaces, and advertising on their websites and menus. Food magazines and newspapers often frame the movement in terms of child nutrition, food safety, and obesity. Ad hoc social institutions including farmers conventions, underground locavore restaurants, and local food councils also proliferate information within the movement.

Social and Popular Media

Many grassroots organizations emerged as outspoken advocates of the movement. "Occupy"-esque movements and the Buy Fresh, Buy Local organization post propaganda through blogs, Twitter, and public events. Public figures like Michelle Obama also endorse the local food movement, garnering support from the general public. For example, the First Lady started an organic garden at the White House, and attends the White House Farmer's Market. According to recent studies, mass media tends to frame the local food movement positively, using emotionally-laden keywords like "accessibility", "variety", "sustainable", "safe", and "cost-savings."

Locavores and Social Stigma

Locavores are often portrayed as elitists. They are commonly viewed as a pretentious group that eats more expensive food because they can. However, a 6 state study found that when examining comparable items, farmers markets are less expensive than nearby supermarkets 74% of the time.

Locavores can be subdivided into four main categories: the environmentally concerned, the animal welfare activists, the health concerned, and the participants who prefer the freshness and taste of local foods. Participants feel that they can support the local food movement by 'voting with their food dollar' and buying local for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

The San Fransisco activists, who coined the term locavore, describe themselves as "concerned culinary adventurers." They portray themselves as environmentalists, embracing the frontier of dietary practice and eschewing the normalcy of traditional consumption. They seek to appear both bold and exciting so that others will join their cause.

Creation of New Roles

New roles can be formal or informal. They may include public officials, spokespersons, entrepreneurs, writers, activists, etc.

Roles created as a result of the local food movement include farmers market managers, custom smaller slaughterhouses for small cattle operations, local food policy councils, farming restaurant owners and journalists reporting on local food, such as Food Inc or the book The Omnivores Dilemma. Will Richey, owner of Revolutionary Soup in Charlottesville, is an example of a farming restaurant owner. His small farm in Esmont, Va supplies much of the dairy and poultry for his restaurant. True and Essential Meats is an example of a small scale slaughterhouse serving the Charlottesville area.

Conclusions

Displeased with major changes in the food industry, small food movements combined to form the larger local food movement. Similar dissatisfactions have led to other social movements, such as the Occupy Wall Street movement, the Fair-trade movement, and the emergence of Lou's List at the University of Virginia. Lou's list arose in 2006 as a result of dissatisfaction with ISIS, the old online information system at UVa. Because of frustrations with SIS (ISIS's replacement), students and professors found a new way to plan their schedules. Social causes arise as a result of common desires and dissatisfaction. They become movements when they create a mission, new technologies, new roles, and a means of propagating information.