Exploring Paradox in the Local Foods Movement: Challenges in Uniting Ideology and Practice

Throughout the United States, there is a discernible movement towards a more localized food system. Asserting that movement practices can minimize detrimental effects to the environment while providing benefits to human nutrition, community well being and social justice, those promoting food system localization engage in practices which aim to resist the globalizing and industrializing food and agriculture system. Despite these aims, however, the discourses and practices of the movement could be veiling inequalities which limit opportunity for participation in food system localization. Many scholars have pointed theoretically to the ways in which food system localization is not a priori more environmentally, socially or economically better than the global agrofood system. However, there has been considerably less empirical attention paid towards exploring possible impediments in accomplishing these goals. This article begins to fill this gap by examining who currently participates in the movement and the barriers that prevent some from engaging in the movement. Results show that while there is notable and widespread interest in a local foods movement, actual participation is limited to a distinct group and there are several relevant barriers that are germane when considering expanded involvement, and thus achieving democracy, in local food movements.