“For a while now, many of us have used the word ‘local’ as shorthand for food that meets a certain, somewhat ineffable quality standard. In this context, ‘local’ means something like this: This food is grown near here, on a human scale, by people who care deeply about the land and make thoughtful, conscientious choices for its stewardship. It is nutritionally intact and fantastic tasting. It thrives here, unpropped by excessive resources or technology. Its history is knowable and unsullied.”

“local” has been corrupted just like the term “organic”. A chef friend of ours asked his wholesale distributor what they meant by local and was told it was anywhere they could get a truck to in 24 hours. Not round trip, one way. That makes CA, Mexico, and Canada local…