The spring weather that has devastated orchards and perhaps
vineyards and strawberry patches reveals a vulnerability in the “buy local”
campaigns that have become popular.
Relying on locally-grown food is riskier than developing
extensive global trade.
That is, unfortunately, the opposite of the public-relations
message many farmers promote when they advocate local or national
self-sufficiency of food production.
It is the message that Canada’s dairy and poultry farmers
promote in defense of the high tariffs required to sustain the
supply-management system.
But, as this
year’s spring weather shows, it is a misleading message.
The truth is that lowering trade barriers reduces the risk
of going short of any type of food people would like to buy.
And the truth is that keeping consumers supplied with the
foods they prefer retains their loyalty to that type of food because they have
less incentive to switch to something different.
By all means, buy local and buy fresh.
But it’s not going to do much, if anything, to improve food security.
