#relocalization

"Relocalization is a strategy to build societies based on the local production of food, energy and goods, and the local development of currency, governance and culture. The main goals of relocalization are to increase community energy security, to strengthen local economies, and to improve environmental conditions and social equity. The relocalization strategy developed in response to the environmental, social, political and economic impacts of global over-reliance on cheap energy.

Nowadays, in a big city supermarket, you can get almost any food from anywhere in the world at any time. But is this good?

In Nature, different things grow on different places on the planet and at different times of year for a reason. The animals that live in that area are supposed to have those certain foods at those certain times ... humans included.

Straying away from this, and eating all sorts of exotic and out of season foods, is not necessarily healthy. A little treat now and again is one thing, but if most of your fresh foods are coming from far away and are out of their natural season, this will contribute to you feeling distant, disconnected, and not in tune with where you are. Sound familiar?

Another very good reason to eat locally is that a huge amount of global resources goes into getting those exotic and imported foods into your local market. The health of our planet and the effect of over-using its resources is an important consideration.

Gene Logsdon's eight-thousand word allegory "The Man Who Created Paradise" is a perfect example of how we should engage the landscape- intervene heavily in the most degraded, damaged, polluted areas to bring them back into natural abundance. It also touches on local economic models, and tells a lovely story that I hope will be created again and again throughout the world in real life.