Will feds' support of 'buy local' hurt big farmers?

What began as a search for local produce may be turning into a political statement about the future of agriculture. Buying local could become in its own tiny way "part of a growing debate between food producers large and small over what the American food system should look like and how government might reshape it," Roger Buddenberg of the Omaha World-Herald reports. As Congress prepares to shape the 2012 farm bill, the emphasis on local food will be a major issue.

"Traditional, large-scale farmers fret that they will be slighted in favor of the 'locavore' growers who are the mainstay of upscale grocers and urban farmers markets," Buddenberg writes. "One focus of big-farmer fears is 'Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food,' a new grant program aimed at 'better connecting consumers with local producers,' according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture." Meanwhile, USDA and the Justice Department are launching investigations into claims that large agriculture companies have too much control over the industry.

While praising Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food's goal of teaching consumers about where their food comes from, Republican Sens. John McCain of Arizona, Saxby Chambliss of Georgia and Pat Roberts of Kansas complained it was "stinting conventional farmers, who grow the most food, in order to aid 'small, hobbyist and organic producers whose customers generally consist of affluent patrons at urban farmers markets,'" Buddenberg writes.

Buying local has taken different meanings for different people. "It can mean food grown or processed within, say, 50 miles of the consumer," Buddenberg writes. "Or it can mean food raised in a certain way — without pesticides, for instance — or by a certain kind of grower, such as a family farmer." Still to others, buying local just means "I'd rather buy my tomatoes from the nice guy," Brad Lubben, an assistant professor of agricultural economics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, said. While local food may continue to grow in popularity, Lubben cautions that the future of agriculture will likely consist of some mixture of large and small producers. (Read more)