Bringing the food economy home : local alternatives to global agribusiness

If the many social, environmental, and economic crises facing the planet are to be reversed, a good place to start is to rebuild local food economies. Food is something everyone, everywhere, needs every day, so even small changes in the way it is produced and marketed can offer immense benefits. Bringing the Food Economy Home shows how a shift towards the local would protect and rebuild agricultural diversity. It would give farmers a bigger share of the money spent on food, and provide consumers with healthier, fresher food at more affordable prices. It would reduce transport, greenhouse gas emissions, and the need for toxic agricultural chemicals. It would lessen the need for stroage, packaging, refrigeration and artifical additives. And it would help revitalize rural economies and communities in both the industrialized and the developing world. With benefits for farmer and consumer, for urban and rural dweller, and for the economy as well as the environment, local food is a powerful solution-multiplier, one that we cannot afford to ignore.