Local = Sustainable?

We all need to eat, but what factors do we consider when buying groceries?  One point of differentiation that produce growers have honed in on is sustainability.

Interestingly, the terms “organic” and “local” food have become synonymous with “sustainable” food for many people.

Buying local sounds great and is a feel-good purchase, however, it is not always a simple case of local = better.  According to the CFIA, food can be labeled “local” as long as it is produced within the same province, or within 50km of a neighbouring province. That means in BC, food labeled as “local” could have been grown anywhere from a rooftop garden in downtown Vancouver, to the Okanagan, to western Alberta, to, theoretically, southern Yukon. Food grown just over the US border, however, would not be considered “local”.

From a marketing perspective, the ambiguity of current labeling standards in Canada make green washing easy. Many consumers do not bother looking beyond the “local” label and take the claim at face value. Even if consumers were interested in the source of the produce, how would they trace its origins? These circumstances make it easy for organisation to make sustainability claims without following through on them. It also poses challenges for organisations that legitimately source locally. How do they establish credibility?

Food labeled as “local” only tells consumers where it was sourced, not whether it is grown organically or via fair labour practices. I wonder how much consumers care about whether food is local and sustainable vs. just looking for a feel-good purchase.