Local, Organic Farms Won't Save the Food System

The food movement has succeeded in identifying and raising awareness about the vast environmental and public health risks inherent in the world's food systems. Still waiting for a clear path to sustainability, however, is what to do about it.

1 minute read

September 26, 2017, 2:00 PM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell

Alice Henneman / Flickr

Tamar Haspal, food columnist for The Washington Post, argues a point that might be difficult for some food reform advocates to hear: "The food movement has a problem: It’s right about what’s wrong with our system, but wrong about how to fix it."

After defining the "food movement" as a "loose coalition of sustainability-minded people calling for the food system to be more focused on environmental and human health," Haspal makes the case that buying fresh and local won’t save us. The reasons for Haspal's skepticism about the reach of small, local, organic farms are four, with more detail included in the article:

They don’t grow the right stuff.
They can’t grow the right stuff.
The land is in the wrong place.
Seasons.

Haspal's column concludes with a call to action to the food movement to change its focus toward solutions in the food system that can make a much bigger difference.

FULL STORY: Why small, local, organic farms aren’t the key to fixing our food system

Friday, September 22, 2017 in The Washington Post

Environment Infrastructure World United States Food Food Systems Local Farms Organic Food Public Health Commodity Crops Food Movement View More

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