How can we develop stronger and healthier communities?
A recent article by Olga Bonfiglio (The Economics of Organic Farming) reminded me that I had heard a lecture on this at the MOSES conference this past February.
I heard Ken Meter speak about how local and organic food can be a way of developing communities. Here are on some excerpts from Bonfiglio’s article, where she quotes Mr. Meter:
• "Our [struggling] economy is making a compelling case that we shift toward more local food. The current system fails on all counts and it's very efficient at taking wealth out of our communities."
• "This is not a healthy farm economy especially since $135 million in food is purchased outside the region," said Meter. "We need to cut down that $135 million by sourcing food locally."
• "This is a startling reality the general public is not thinking about because it is so far removed from farms," said Meter. "These are losses in the breadbasket of America! This is not a lucrative way to farm."
• Meter believes that if buyers commit themselves to invest in organic and locally-grown agricultural products, farm income would change. However, people would have to understand how such a strategy would benefit them and their community at the same time. It would require a sense of community or ownership over a place where people were unified on the basis of trust, mutuality, and support and not just a shared geography.
• For example, if people in southwestern Wisconsin bought just 25 percent of their food from local sources, all production costs would be offset and create $33 million in new farm income.
• "It is not a trivial thing to source food through local people," said Meter. "That helps fund communities and their schools."
• Meter cited several examples where farmers have been able to invest in local and organic production AND make a difference in their communities.
Examples:
Organic Valley, WI
Black Hawk, IA
Growing Power, Milwaukee, WI
Viroqua, WI
In Eau Claire, WI
Burlington, VT
Northfield, MN
Such arrangements break down self-interest motives to help move everyone in the community forward, said Meter. "The food systems of the future will also involve rethinking our habits of getting our food cheaply," concluded Meter. "Such change can build wealth in our communities." Mr. Meter works at Crossroads Resource Center in Minneapolis.
