Everyday Meanings of “Local Food

Views from Home and Field

Bibliographic Data

ID6182136
AuthorsMarcia Ostrom (0000-0002-8585-1167)
Year2006
Volume37
Issue1
Pages65-78
Publication date2006-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueCommunity Development (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1557-5330 • E-ISSN: 1944-7485
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/15575330609490155
OpenAlexW2022244919
LanguageEN
Citations received26
References cited16

A “buy local” approach to food sourcing appears to provide an increasingly salient mobilizing framework for city, county, and state level governments; non-profits; and funding agencies as a response to problems in the agri-food system. One rather constant source of tension, however, has been a failure to develop shared meanings about what constitutes “local food.” This paper critically examines the multiple ways that “local” is constructed in physical, relational, and symbolic space within the specific context of Washington State. In hopes of extending the debate beyond scholars and activists, we sought the perspectives of a broad sample of Washington citizens using farmer and consumer surveys. Open-ended questions were asked about the meaning of “local food,” as well as structured questions about the values and practical considerations associated with food production and marketing. Although a number of obstacles to using “local food” as a mobilizing construct to address systemic agricultural problems became evident, a surprising amount of agreement about the meaning of the concept was also uncovered

Agriculture · Business · Construct (python library · Context (archaeology · Epistemology · Field (mathematics · Food security · Food systems · Geography · Meaning (existential · Political science · Public relations · Salient · Sociology · State (computer science · Culinary Culture and Tourism · Organic Food and Agriculture · Urban Agriculture and Sustainability · Law · Marketing

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub