Food Independence

Take a small stand today. Sign the pledge to buy and eat all locally sourced food for the 4th of July. A coalition of organizations put together a petition and some other actions you can take if you want to take your food independence a step further. Here's what they have in store for you:

Here’s what you can do:

* Sign their petition either by going to www.foodindependenceday.org or Facebook
* Contact your state’s first family and ask them to share their July 4th menu with us (they can e-mail it to roger(at)kitchengardeners(dot)org)
* If you’re a kid and growing some local food of your own, share your story with others through the “Why I’m a Victory Grower” video contest.

For the skeptics out there who still aren't sure about this whole 'local food' thing and feel like it's an anti-growth, protectionist movement thrown together by a bunch of naive do-gooders I point to the economist John Maynard Keynes. While reading Saving the World at Work by Tim Sanders I came across this interesting fact about buying local that is usually left out. John Maynard Keynes coined the term "local multiplier effect" in his book The General Theory of Employment in 1936. The multiplier effect measures how many times a dollar stays in one community. The theory is that the higher the multiplier effect in a community the more healthy and vibrant that community becomes. So, the buy local movement is nothing new. It is protectionist but it's not anti-growth nor is it a harebrained idea thrown together by a bunch of foodies.

So, as you can see, buying local food or local anything is really the patriotic thing to do this Independence Day!

(Cross-posted on www.almondbean.blogspt.com)