The Local Food concept means buying food available locally or made locally in a particular country or state. It was said that this helps ecological sustainability and preserves cultural diversity.
Basically producing food locally and consuming it in the same locality will contain the fluctuating demand and supply for the food products. If the food which is imported from other regions dominates the locally produced one then the imported foods can control the supply of food and thus lead to what is called local economics. The economist E.F. Schumacher has done a lot work on local economics.
Generally the food imported from the third world countries into the developed countries is cheaper than the locally produced food. This is the case in United States. People prefer buying imported food. If the local food concept educates the people to buy only local food then these developing nations will lose very much. It is because their economic growth is very much dependent on the export of food and cash crops.
Unfortunately the locally produced food does not give the variety that comes from imported food. With imported food you can get different types of food made with different tastes and styles. You may also find the food which cannot be produced in your region due to climate or soil conditions. Rarely available (it may be costly) food and food specific to a different season cannot be obtained with local food.
