PORKER
Well-known member
Local food
Every action -- even those in the agriculture industry -- has an equal and opposite reaction. The same is true with globalization, which is spawning a fervent local-food movement.
"Local foods make sense intuitively as part of a plan to support local economies," says Richard Pirog, marketing and food systems program leader at Iowa State University's Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture. "(Consumers) like the idea of supporting local farms and their local economy."
As fuel prices and food-transportation costs increase, local and regional food systems make good economic and environmental sense, he continues. To contrast the differences in food transport between local and national/global food systems, Pirog and his colleagues use "food miles," the distance food travels from where it is grown to where it is purchased by (or served to) the consumer or end-user.
"The average consumer can relate to a simple mileage number; they understand that a low number means the food is more local, and a high number means the food may come from across the country, or across the world," Pirog says.
To arrive at more precise estimates, Pirog considered only food traveling within the continental United States and found that fresh produce travels, on average, nearly 1,500 miles. This is contrasted with an average distance of 45 to 55 miles for local produce in Iowa. Pirog's group also explored food miles for strawberry yogurt, a multiple-ingredient food product, and determined that the three primary ingredients -- strawberries, milk and sugar -- traveled a total of 2,216 miles.
Challenges and obstacles
As food travels farther -- and passes through more hands -- the occasion for food safety problems multiples and COSTS increase. The world's food systems are woven together by trade, Westhoff says, and the costs of being connected are animal diseases and health and safety concerns.
Food safety, a critical factor in international trade, was brought to the forefront with the establishment of the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement among World Trade Organization members. This agreement was meant to protect exporters from other countries' use of health-related measures to disguise trade barriers, but according to Heinze, sanitary and phytosanitary are new impediments to trade, with new testing and inspections suddenly announced upon delivery of exports, leading to constant adjustments.
"(We need to) get everyone's standards at the same level," Heinze says. "Regulations need to be standard and science-based. If government can solve one thing -- standardize sanitary standards."
Another major challenge facing a global food system is spillover effects from disease, like BSE and Avian Flu, Westhoff says. "If there is a problem, it has repercussions everywhere. It makes us all more vulnerable. Do we want a system that after a BSE scare shuts down trade for a long time?" Westhoff asks. For a global food system to succeed there needs to be better domestic policies and better international policies, he continues.Also lower transport costs
One key advancement domestically is the continuing development of the National Animal Identification System for all food animals and livestock.
"The U.S. is the only country that has had a BSE case and does not have an animal ID system in place," Heinze says. "International markets will begin to require it."
And, hopefully, when they do, the United States will be ready to comply.
Every action -- even those in the agriculture industry -- has an equal and opposite reaction. The same is true with globalization, which is spawning a fervent local-food movement.
"Local foods make sense intuitively as part of a plan to support local economies," says Richard Pirog, marketing and food systems program leader at Iowa State University's Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture. "(Consumers) like the idea of supporting local farms and their local economy."
As fuel prices and food-transportation costs increase, local and regional food systems make good economic and environmental sense, he continues. To contrast the differences in food transport between local and national/global food systems, Pirog and his colleagues use "food miles," the distance food travels from where it is grown to where it is purchased by (or served to) the consumer or end-user.
"The average consumer can relate to a simple mileage number; they understand that a low number means the food is more local, and a high number means the food may come from across the country, or across the world," Pirog says.
To arrive at more precise estimates, Pirog considered only food traveling within the continental United States and found that fresh produce travels, on average, nearly 1,500 miles. This is contrasted with an average distance of 45 to 55 miles for local produce in Iowa. Pirog's group also explored food miles for strawberry yogurt, a multiple-ingredient food product, and determined that the three primary ingredients -- strawberries, milk and sugar -- traveled a total of 2,216 miles.
Challenges and obstacles
As food travels farther -- and passes through more hands -- the occasion for food safety problems multiples and COSTS increase. The world's food systems are woven together by trade, Westhoff says, and the costs of being connected are animal diseases and health and safety concerns.
Food safety, a critical factor in international trade, was brought to the forefront with the establishment of the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement among World Trade Organization members. This agreement was meant to protect exporters from other countries' use of health-related measures to disguise trade barriers, but according to Heinze, sanitary and phytosanitary are new impediments to trade, with new testing and inspections suddenly announced upon delivery of exports, leading to constant adjustments.
"(We need to) get everyone's standards at the same level," Heinze says. "Regulations need to be standard and science-based. If government can solve one thing -- standardize sanitary standards."
Another major challenge facing a global food system is spillover effects from disease, like BSE and Avian Flu, Westhoff says. "If there is a problem, it has repercussions everywhere. It makes us all more vulnerable. Do we want a system that after a BSE scare shuts down trade for a long time?" Westhoff asks. For a global food system to succeed there needs to be better domestic policies and better international policies, he continues.Also lower transport costs
One key advancement domestically is the continuing development of the National Animal Identification System for all food animals and livestock.
"The U.S. is the only country that has had a BSE case and does not have an animal ID system in place," Heinze says. "International markets will begin to require it."
And, hopefully, when they do, the United States will be ready to comply.