The Locavore's Dilemma

In Praise of the 10,000-mile Diet

Business & Finance, Economics, Exports & Imports, Industries & Professions, Industries, Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science
Cover of the book The Locavore's Dilemma by Pierre Desrochers, Hiroko Shimizu, PublicAffairs
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Pierre Desrochers, Hiroko Shimizu ISBN: 9781586489410
Publisher: PublicAffairs Publication: June 5, 2012
Imprint: PublicAffairs Language: English
Author: Pierre Desrochers, Hiroko Shimizu
ISBN: 9781586489410
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Publication: June 5, 2012
Imprint: PublicAffairs
Language: English

A new generation of food activists has come to believe that “sustainable farming” and “eating local” are the way to solve a host of perceived problems with our modern food supply system. By combining healthy eating and a high standard of environmental stewardship, these locavores think, we can also deliver important economic benefits and increase food security within local economies.

But after a thorough review of the evidence, economic geographer Pierre Desrochers and policy analyst Hiroko Shimizu have concluded these claims are mistaken. In The Locavore’s Dilemma, they explain the history, science, and economics of food supply to reveal what locavores miss or misunderstand: the real environmental impacts of agricultural production; the drudgery of subsistence farming; and the essential role large-scale, industrial producers play in making food more available, varied, affordable, and nutritionally rich than ever before in history. At best, they show, locavorism is a well-meaning marketing fad among the world’s most privileged consumers. At worst, it constitutes a dangerous distraction from solving serious global food issues.

Deliberately provocative, but based on scrupulous research and incontrovertible scientific evidence, The Locavore’s Dilemma proves that:

• Our modern food-supply chain is a superior alternative that has evolved through constant competition and ever-more-rigorous efficiency.

• A world food chain characterized by free trade and the absence of agricultural subsidies would deliver lower prices and more variety in a manner that is both economically and environmentally more sustainable.

• There is no need to feel guilty for not joining the locavores on their crusade. Eating globally, not only locally, is the way to save the planet.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

A new generation of food activists has come to believe that “sustainable farming” and “eating local” are the way to solve a host of perceived problems with our modern food supply system. By combining healthy eating and a high standard of environmental stewardship, these locavores think, we can also deliver important economic benefits and increase food security within local economies.

But after a thorough review of the evidence, economic geographer Pierre Desrochers and policy analyst Hiroko Shimizu have concluded these claims are mistaken. In The Locavore’s Dilemma, they explain the history, science, and economics of food supply to reveal what locavores miss or misunderstand: the real environmental impacts of agricultural production; the drudgery of subsistence farming; and the essential role large-scale, industrial producers play in making food more available, varied, affordable, and nutritionally rich than ever before in history. At best, they show, locavorism is a well-meaning marketing fad among the world’s most privileged consumers. At worst, it constitutes a dangerous distraction from solving serious global food issues.

Deliberately provocative, but based on scrupulous research and incontrovertible scientific evidence, The Locavore’s Dilemma proves that:

• Our modern food-supply chain is a superior alternative that has evolved through constant competition and ever-more-rigorous efficiency.

• A world food chain characterized by free trade and the absence of agricultural subsidies would deliver lower prices and more variety in a manner that is both economically and environmentally more sustainable.

• There is no need to feel guilty for not joining the locavores on their crusade. Eating globally, not only locally, is the way to save the planet.

More books from PublicAffairs

Cover of the book Everything You Love Will Burn by Pierre Desrochers, Hiroko Shimizu
Cover of the book On the Cancer Frontier by Pierre Desrochers, Hiroko Shimizu
Cover of the book Cockeyed by Pierre Desrochers, Hiroko Shimizu
Cover of the book A Chinaman's Chance by Pierre Desrochers, Hiroko Shimizu
Cover of the book The Great Deformation by Pierre Desrochers, Hiroko Shimizu
Cover of the book Who Are We -- And Should It Matter in the 21st Century? by Pierre Desrochers, Hiroko Shimizu
Cover of the book Mandela by Pierre Desrochers, Hiroko Shimizu
Cover of the book The End of the Cold War: 1985-1991 by Pierre Desrochers, Hiroko Shimizu
Cover of the book Mission High by Pierre Desrochers, Hiroko Shimizu
Cover of the book The Home That Was Our Country by Pierre Desrochers, Hiroko Shimizu
Cover of the book Dancing in the Glory of Monsters by Pierre Desrochers, Hiroko Shimizu
Cover of the book The Trade by Pierre Desrochers, Hiroko Shimizu
Cover of the book Muhammad by Pierre Desrochers, Hiroko Shimizu
Cover of the book War Hospital by Pierre Desrochers, Hiroko Shimizu
Cover of the book Death of the Liberal Class by Pierre Desrochers, Hiroko Shimizu
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy