Noma's Chef Rene Redzepi, whose dishes include Vintage Carrot and Chamomile; The Sea; and Asparagus and Spruce, on the science of deliciousness and the importance of using local ingredients. [more inside]
posted by lemuring on Jan 31, 2012 - 8 comments

A few tiny towns in Maine have enacted new ordinances described as "food sovereignty laws". [more inside]
posted by Leta on Mar 19, 2011 - 116 comments

Eating 'local' is touted as healthier and friendlier to the environment than shopping from large commercial food sources that spend petroleum products shipping food hundreds and thousands of miles from their place of origin. Farmer's markets are on the rise. Yay! But some of those farmers have a secret: They don't grow their own. [more inside]
posted by SLC Mom on Sep 25, 2010 - 148 comments

Although Americans' appetite for local, grass-fed beef is growing, regional livestock farmers face a nagging problem: a shortage of slaughterhouses. Now some of them are turning to mobile operations to butcher their animals on their own farms. Mobile slaughter units feed the local food movement
posted by twoleftfeet on Aug 19, 2010 - 63 comments

Eating local, organic foods may not be the best option. The vast majority of greenhouse gas emissions stem from food production, not transportation, and production inputs for organic food are typically higher. Third world countries that have a food system that is organic and local by default are suffering from lack of infrastructure and investment in basic production technologies that could improve nutrition for millions of people. [more inside]
posted by stinker on Apr 28, 2010 - 153 comments

"Welcome to the simplicity movement, the ethos whose mantras are "cutting back," "focusing on the essentials," "reconnecting to the land" - and talking, talking, talking about how fulfilled it all makes you feel." Charlotte Allen of In Character about the Simplicity Movement, magazines, wild boars, virtue, and 350$ riding boots.
posted by The Whelk on Apr 25, 2010 - 75 comments

In a possible sign of things to come, a group of Ontario grocery chain franchisees has split off and formed an independent co-op in order to better access locally-sourced food.
posted by parudox on Jul 15, 2009 - 21 comments

"Find Good Food Near You. Want fresh, locally grown food, but don't know where to find it? The LocalHarvest community level map makes it easy to find sustainable farmers, farmers markets and Community Supported Agriculture projects (CSAs) in your area."
posted by dersins on Sep 30, 2007 - 21 comments