The urban homesteaders at Hen Waller have posted about a New York Times Small Business section article entitled “Why Roots Matter.” The Times explores the interest in local and regional food producers as consumers are faced with the reality that not all food labeled as “organic” necessarily is local and/or produced with sustainable methods. There are two reasons to be optimistic that maybe, just maybe, people are beginning to rethink the current modes of food production. First, consumers are willing to seek out and pay more for locally grown food. Second, regional and national suppliers and producers are finding ways to re-invest in local producers. These are precisely the sort of steps that have to be taken, and what is really great is that it is happening generally without government intervention.

Posted on 16 November 2006