Paper short abstract:

Despite paradoxes in the utopian ideal of local food, ethnographic research on small farmers in the US reveals their potential for creating change in the food system. Taking farmers’ lives seriously allows a theory of localism beyond current critiques that foregrounds collectivity and justice.

Paper long abstract:

"Local" has become a desirable quality of early 21st century consumer goods in the United States—being touted in what Americans eat, buy, read, wear, and build. A marketable characteristic, the term's ubiquity begs examination, particularly as it appears concurrently with the prevalence of global circulations and dramatic disparities in economic wealth, physical wellbeing, and environmental health. Apparent paradoxes embedded in the definitions, utopian ideals, and actual practices of "buying local" are often used to dismiss the genuinely-held aspirations of those involved. However, ethnographic research on local food producers reveals their potential for creating meaningful change in the food systems of post-industrial societies. This paper draws on original ethnographic research with locally-oriented food farmers in the Midwestern region of the US to challenge reductionist views of local food growers and to propose a socially integrative vision of food justice. It discusses the practical experience and aspirational appeal of "local" for small farmers who sell primarily through farmers' markets and community supported agriculture agreements (CSA) and who make up an at-risk class of labor. It contrasts the choices of these farmers with those of large-scale "conventional" food farmers who distribute through aggregation. By taking seriously the goals of farmers, on their own terms while also pushing the exigencies of their positions, we can develop a theory of localism that is rooted in practical and political concerns but goes beyond supply-chain and producer-consumer models to propose food as a collective enterprise of shared responsibility.