Consumers in Boulder are highly susceptible to “local food” marketing, but recent natural disasters should warrant more gratitude this Thanksgiving for remotely-sourced food.
Many Boulderites boast they are “localvores,” eating locally-sourced food whenever possible. “Community Supported Agriculture” farms, like Red Wagon or 63rd St. Farm, and our local farmers’ markets are extremely successful. Restaurants all along Pearl Street feature local ingredients. It’s clear that “local food” and the community it fosters is central to Boulder culture; this culture definitely contributed to Boulder being named the happiest city in the U.S. by National Geographic.
But are local consumers unnecessarily rejecting imported food when imported food is an integral part of a strong, resilient food system?
Following hurricane disasters in Texas, Florida, and Puerto Rico, the U.S. administration was forced to waive the Jones Act in order to make it easier to import food and meet food demands. According to the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization, the food security of 800,000 in Haiti is seriously threatened following Hurricane Matthew. I doubt those affected are concerned with eating locally, and they probably won’t be anytime soon. Unfortunately, the relationships these communities have with remote food producers are now the biggest source of food security.
While Boulder won’t ever get hit by a hurricane, other natural disasters or crop failures could pop the “Boulder bubble” at any time. The memory of the destructive 2013 flood is still fresh for many, and destructive windstorms and drought are also possibilities in this area.
All I’m saying is that we shouldn’t turn our noses up at imported food. Maintaining remote food relationships is as important as maintaining local food relationships for resilient local food security in the face of natural disasters and adverse climate change.
Danielle Lemmon
Boulder
