Local Foods Your Environment

Modern agriculture is dependant on economics of scale. All commodity crops

are produced on the principle of lower input costs to achieve the most yield possible. This system is completely

dependant on a stable and cheap supply of fossil fuel. The system has worked

extremely well for 60 years. Food costs are very low by historical standards.

Lately, some issues have started to surface about this system!!

The current industrial food system is using 18% of our total US oil consumption.

The water and soil around our country is showing signs of contamination, such as the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico. The soil erosion is getting worse every year as we monocrop our farms. The ultra-

high concentration of animals in Concentrated Animal Feeder Operations

(CAFO) is also causing ecological problems such as fish kills and excess

harmful pathogens in the soil.

The Midwest imports 97% of the food we eat!We are in the middle of the best agricultural

land in the world and most of our food travels 1500 miles to reach our table.

We are convinced strawberries should be available all year and do not question the environmental impact of this consumption. As long as food businesses offer us $1.00 menus, why do we care how they do it?

Our preference for quality food or responsible stewardship of the

environment is really controlled by money.

Business EnvironmentUnited States

Gross Expenditures on Food $444,000,000,000

South DakotaGross Expenditures on Food

$1,466,098,125

Regional Gross Expenditures on Food

Sioux Falls $432,609,375 Rapid City $314,964,375Brookings $115,106,250 Aberdeen $113,891,250Vermillion $106,745,625 Pierre $100,023,750Watertown $99,380,625 Huron $74,295,000

What factors influence your food purchasing decision ?

1) Low Prices2) Convenience3) Flavor4) Healthy / Safe Food 5) Animal Welfare 6) Worker Welfare7) Ecological Impact 8) Transparency 9) Sustainable Farms10) Organic Production

# 1Price

Lower Wages Limited Benefits Out-flow of dollars from the community Increase production units Source inputs from lowest cost provider Apply economics of scale to production Replace human energy with fossil fuel Replace nutrient inputs with fossil fuel Distribution reliant on fossil fuel

#2 Convenience

Many of us make our food choices on easy access, short term decisions and

perceived time constraints. The current food industry has convinced us

time is more important than nutrition, enjoyment of food or social interaction

while dining.

#3 Flavor – Taste

It is interesting we choose short term satisfaction over so many other factors.

Flavor is so important food companies spend millions in research to study how

people react to various additives to increase product consumption.

# 4Healthy / Safe Food

Concerns about food borne illnesses, heart disease, diabetes and obesity have made food safety a much greater concern. As our food system becomes centralized and highly processed, our health is

deteriorating.

# 5Animal Welfare

Many large meat producers are very concerned about how their production

practices are perceived.The current production practices and

product quality of large confinement operations are beginning to experience

consumer resistance.

# 6Worker Welfare

Who is the labor force providing the food on our plate? It is interesting we place

animal welfare ahead of humans. Do we feel that people have freedom of choice and animals do not? Do the agricultural workers in our system have reasonable

working conditions? Do the workers providing your food have reasonable

working conditions?

# 7Ecological Impact

Pollution, petroleum consumption, erosion, climate change, pesticide contamination and consumer waste are all non-issues

to the majority of the consumers. Do you think about any these factors when you

purchase food?

Many local farmers, environmentalists, animal welfare advocates, locavores, Slow Food

movement advocates, Buy Fresh Buy Local proponents and many others see a different

path. Eating local food connects the consumer with the

farmer. The food becomes artisan, as individual as the producer. The food is not ultra-processed into unhealthy products.

The farmers are producing under sustainable practices which replenishes the soil as it

produces diverse crops. Many farmers are practicing organic methods, some certified

organic. The food is healthy, whole and nutritious.

Education Campaigns

The first phase to bring local foods back to the community is education. An organized effort with clear goals and

objectives must be planned, local champions identified, financial budgets prepared and a plan of

work prepared.

The traditional questions must be addressed:WhoWhat

WhereWhenWhy

“Buy Fresh Buy Local”FoodRoutes Network is the lead organization responsible

for the format and continuity of the state and regional chapters.

Local Foods

New opinions often appear first as jokes and fancies,

then as blasphemies and treason, then as questions open to discussion,

and finally as established truths.

George Bernard Shaw