Making local eating bourgie and unattainable
The photo shows a stereotypical farmer, plaid shirt and overalls front and center. In the background, a table full of young professionals gathered around a laptop. Welcome to the new picture of a locavore…
An article in the New York Times details a growing trend in local eating, a trend that many would call the Lazy Locavore movement. More to the point, this trend is based on disposable income more than laziness, and injects an unneeded class distinction into local foods.
The article picks up the false argument that local food always costs more, therefore it should be in the realm of the upper classes to purchase it or have it grown for them. Installed gardens (with maintenance packages), home deliveries of pre-cooked local stews and personal chefs may unnecessarily become the new faces of local eating. Attempts to build community based, income-irrelevant food systems have to stay above the class divide and focus on ways to bring local eaters together and make local food attainable to anyone who wants it.
July 22, 2008 at 8:59 pm
The article picks up the false argument that local food always costs more, therefore it should be in the realm of the upper classes to purchase it or have it grown for them.
Ugh. Not one person I know that’s livin’ la vida local is above middle class. Most of us (the ones I know, that is) are low-middle.
I’m both annoyed and kinda psyched that local is catching on in a big way. But ya know what? This wider trend (I’m afraid) will pass, and in 15 years or so we’ll see these newer converts offending my olfactory boundaries with their Giorgio and sporting big bangs. The male “popped” collar’s already back, after all.
(Now, get off my lawn.)
July 22, 2008 at 9:00 pm
(I don’t say “livin’ la vida local” by the way. It just popped out in a moment of silly)
July 23, 2008 at 10:19 am
‘a completely local diet is out of reach for even the most dedicated’….I like this one.
February 10, 2010 at 6:25 pm
Devil’s advocate: one of the difficulties in engineering positive social change is appealing to the vanity of the general public. Some comedian awhile back said, “until women start sleeping with guys because of their low carbon footprint, you’re still going to see Hummers on the road”. While it’s not universally true, I think it’s definitely a facet of the upwardly-mobile, achievement-driven, professional class. The article describes sections of the locavore movement that appeal to that upper-class sense of exclusivity and elitism, and if that makes it sexy for the rich, and causes them to reject the factory farming chain and go local, it’s a positive. As for the rest of us, we don’t need personal chefs, and we don’t need to be sold on the movement. All that Gucci shit sells the concept to people who wouldn’t piss on me if I was on fire. I’m all for it.
October 20, 2010 at 9:06 am
I just found you through a string of clicks and posts. This is a great blog. There’s a lot to read, and a lot to think about. I have, all by myself, in my own head, without research, or the NY Times, been very frustrated at how difficult it is to eat local and not break the bank. We also don’t have a car, so getting to the places where the farmers sell and getting it home and working my job, and doing my art—it takes dedication and a ton of energy. I DO see higher prices on the local, seasonal stuff at the regular shopping market, and depending on the area the Farmers Market is in, the prices can be higher there too. I like the idea of a local challenge, and I think I may just try it!