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So I'm not just a locavore, but I work with a local cooperative group that currently brings together a dozen producers and now eighty households and counting. It's centred on a (SW French) small town of 4,000 inhabitants and a neighbouring town of 2,000, with surrounding villages; producers are at less than 10 miles with the exception of 20 for the added luxury, wine. I'll be writing about this (the group and especially the wine, since next Saturday we'll be meeting with the vigneron to taste and choose the mix he'll be putting down in a cask for us). I know, Brother Donkey, that you want to hear about such things, all I'll say for the moment is http://www.coteauxdengravies.com.
Price: yes, it's a barrier. Though by supporting the producer with a commitment to buy over a season (paid in advance if the producer feels it necessary) and concentrating delivery at one spot weekly, fortnightly, or monthly, it's possible to get prices down to a reasonable level which is considerably lower than the market price for the same high-quality (mostly organic) produce. I mean to write about this too, because there's certainly a lot to be said about it, in particular how to bring in people who don't have the means to pay even these prices - which is something we intend to try to do.
Is it easy to put together a group like this? It takes work. There are no legal difficulties in France where farmers have the right to sell their produce directly on the farm, on street markets, or by delivery. So work, networking, work.
A tiny criticism of your diary? It's not necessarily that easy to get some land and raise goats etc. Making goat's cheese may not be all that hard, but making good goat's cheese that you really want to eat often is not all that easy... ;) When locusts move on, they leave nothing behind
We've been taking it one step further as much as possible by growing all our veggies in the not-very-large yardspace around our house. It makes for strange-looking grounds with raised beds and odd-shaped gardens, but enjoying the fruits of our labors (lots and lots of labors) is quite wonderful. We're eating lots of summer squash right now, four varieties, and four varieties of green beans, too. I'm pacing the floor waiting for the tomatoes to ripen.
Thanks for your food movement articles.
Karen in Austin Thence comes our true nobility by grace, It was not willed us with our rank and place. Chaucer
Which suggests to me that banditry and feudal protectionism isn't far beneath the surface. So, if things start to go wrong and food distributions systems begin to break down, those who have organised themselves into a localised food production system may find themselves unwillingly parasitized and protesting against theft could be a fatal mistake. I'm kinda unwilling to get down with that.
I tend to believe naively that things won't get that dangerous in W Europe, although I think that SE England could become problematic. But the access to weaponry isn't that common. keep to the Fen Causeway
