Fostering The Local: Facilitating A Shift Away From A Global Agri-Food Industry

The limited nature of the current agriculture system inevitably is unsustainable and is in desperate need of reform; there is a rising need to downscale and decentralize agricultural production methods in order to avoid impending future disasters that are inherent to a fossil fuel dependent system. This paper will examine the localized food economy as a potential alternative agricultural system and present the case studies of Waterloo, Canada and Tucson, Arizona. It will conclude with a proposal to facilitate a shift to a reflexively localized food economy in Raleigh, North Carolina. This paper will show the critical need to explore alternative systems that can reduce structural inequalities, environmental degradation and detrimental health effects caused by today’s dominant food system and how collaboration between farmers, researchers, community groups and local governments can facilitate an inclusive shift from the current global, productivist agricultural model to a sustainable, socially conscious and resilient local food economy.