Local Food Sales Up, Organic Food Down?
Interesting news in the article, Local Food Makes a Comeback: according to the a recent report, locally-grown food is benefiting from the global recession as people are motivated to support the local economy and preserve jobs in their region.
Although it’s worth noting that this report comes from a news source in the UK, I wonder if the premise doesn’t have wider implications.
IGD’s Shopper Trends 2009: Food Shopping in a Recession report found 27 per cent of people bought food produced in their local area in the last month, up from 25 per cent in 2008 and 13 per cent in 2005.
At the same time, the same growth is not being seen in the organic food market
The report found spending on organic food dropped this year – 19 per cent of people purchased organic food in the previous month, down from 24 in 2008, suggesting consumers may be thinking about preserving local jobs.
Ms Pickford said: “Jobs definitely come into the equation. It is more about supporting the workforce as well, as organic is not necessarily local – it could be imported. People know by buying locally it’s affecting jobs in the local area.”
The main point is that people living in the areas included in the report feel more strongly about supporting the local farmer/food producer than they do about the source of said food (organic, transitional, etc.).
I can sympathize with this idea, but I can’t say the rationale is one I would follow completely.
Do you have any thoughts? Comment away and we can discuss!