Is "Locally Grown" Locally Grown?

When it comes to that great Locally Grown notification about the food you're going to purchase in a store or consume in a restaurant, put on your skeptic's hat. Local in Washington D.C. can just as easily mean it was grown in California.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_FOOD_DEFINING_LOCAL?SITE=OHCOL&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-04-01-13-36-28

I like the same-state definition.  A restaurant in Key West could declare an ingredient to be locally-grown if it were from 830 miles away (by road) in Pensacola. 

The marketing people jumped on the trend du jour of "local" and interpretated to suit their needs, not the intent.  Noting where the product came from and let the consumer decide if that is considered local is probably the best way to go.
 
I get my honey from Lancaster County, PA, maple syrup from the Adirondacks, much of my cheese from Vermont and blueberries from Maine.  All are some distance from me but I consider "local" since those places have significance to me and I want to support them when I can.  "Local" sweet corn?  I better have driven past the farm in the last month or so if it's going to count.

It has to be a naturally vague term. When I was in corvallis Oregon at the Farmers Market, the locally grown items seemed to come from a 30 mile radius. Here in LA/OC counties, local might be from Tehachapi farms, over 100 miles away. Many regular exhibitors at my local FM come from that distance. One of those terms that seems to cause more confusion and controversy than it's worth.

Yes, I've wondered about that.  I suspect they consider it locally grown if it's domestically grown.  In other words, not in Mexico or China.  

At this point, I consider "Grown in the USA" local.
 
When you shop for produce, look for the "Point of Origin" label.  If your store doesn't have them, give them hell.  It's the law!

California is local.
 

California is local to Nut City.

Most of those little stickers on Fruit & Produce usually give you the Point of Origin. Being in AZ, a lot of our stuff is from South of the Border. Since Fruit and Produce prices have been going up, the drug cartels have started smuggling in Fruit & Produce instead of Cocaine. It has a better profit margin!!!

What I love about Wisconsin in the summer is the farmers on the side of the road, standing in front of a full truck of home grown tomatoes, corn, fruit etc., selling their wares.Cheap, often just picked. This is a common sight along country roads.I rarely have to buy anything from the grocery store for a couple of months. Pure heaven.

On our menu, we advertise "All our fish is caught daily...weeks ago"

Greymo told me he could tell.

Michael Hoffman


Greymo told me he could tell.

Yeah but he had the Tunafish caught in the local crick! We bury them for a month before we filet them, gives the fish a unique flavor, you know Michael, UMAMI!

It's not just the grocery stores. There are three different roadside garden stands near where I live in the summer. I know at least one of them buys a lot of what they sell instead of growing it themselves. And they still have a sign in their yard that says "Locally Grown Produce".

applesd


It's not just the grocery stores. There are three different roadside garden stands near where I live in the summer. I know at least one of them buys a lot of what they sell instead of growing it themselves. And they still have a sign in their yard that says "Locally Grown Produce".

Any of these near Richmond?  Do share 

Here in Massachusetts, the term "native" became defined by law a few years ago, so marketers had to come up with another term. In my experience, even in a busy chain store, most employees will take the time to find out how local is local, if you ask.
 
Recently, I've been buying local honey. They say it helps with seasonal alergy (old wives tale? placebo effect??? I don't know).  One local company lists the origin. The honey may have been extracted in Mass, but the bees foraged in Florida orange groves or Maine blueberry fields. To be local in terms of being useful for hay fever, the bees need to belong to a backyard beekeeper who does not move hives around the country to pollinate.
 
I know an experienced beekeeper via my sheep assn, and my son in law is just starting out. He is a locally famous back yard brewer who wants to make meade. Their honey is truly local..........the hives don't move, the bees do.

Everything is locally grown somewhere! It may be transported somewhere else but it was locally grown somewhere.