Local Food

Global corporations like Frito Lay and Barnes and Noble are attempting to co-opt the word 'local' into their branding.

The "go local" movement has proved so popular that it's become irresistible...for international mega-corporations.

Eating local is in vogue, as the environmental impacts of industrialized agriculture surface. But is eating local really the right response? One author says maybe not.

The Portland, Oregon area is well known for preserving agricultural land separate from urban areas. In the new town of Damascus on the border of the growth boundary, landowners are seeking a way to mix the two.

Time Magazine looks at the problem of 'food deserts' in America- usually low-income communities that groceries have spurned, leaving only fast food and bodegas to fill the bill.

The spike in farms can be seen statewide. They are more diverse than they used to be, and probably a response from young people who "want to know where their foods comes from" and have taken direct action.

Though the use of new portable greenhouse techniques, one farmer is looking to extend his local food growing season year-round -- in Northern Vermont.

North Carolina city dwellers have taken eating locally to a new level by raising their own chickens for eggs. Controversy ensues.

Around Los Angeles' Skid Row, vertical farms have been installed on walls. Its project leaders note that it not only promotes locally grown foods, but it also beautifies areas that "would otherwise just be concrete and steel."

The Pennsylvania Fresh Food Financing Initiative (FFFI) has provided $42 million in grants and loans to finance 58 locally-owned grocery stores, combating fresh grocery shortages in areas of rural and urban Pennsylvania.

Cal Poly students, working with nonprofit Urban Farming, are creating 'edible walls' for low-income residents in L.A.

Residents of Austin, TX are risking violation of city ordinances forbidding loud animals to raise chickens in their central city neighborhood backyards. It's partly a way to cut out-of-pocket expenses.

In an effort to reduce shipping costs, Wal-Mart is cutting its food miles and passing the savings on to customer by selling locally grown produce.

Urban farms are popping up in New York and elsewhere, providing residents with access to fresh, affordable produce.

Seattle's new local food initiative will try to help provide access to health, fresh food in neighborhoods that are a long walk or bus ride from a supermarket.

A few eco-conscious -- and business savvy -- suburbanites are ripping up their lawns and growing vegetables to cater to the increasing demand for local produce.

Government subsidy programs designed to support the production of the four major food crops are limiting - even penalizing - small farmers' ability to meet regional demand for local fruits and vegetables.