NY Times: Southern Farmers Vanquish the Clichés

Rebecca Bryant of Watershed Consulting just forwarded me this great article from the New York Times on Southern food that I had to share. Something to think about as we take stock of our relationship with food heading into a new year!

Click here to see the entire article on nytimes.com. They posted a number of photos to accompany the article. The text of the article is copied below.

Southern Farmers Vanquish the Clichés
By Julia Moskin
Published December 27, 2011

IT’S not hard to get Emile DeFelice riled up. Just mention Paula Deen, the so-called queen of Southern food, who cooks with canned fruit and Crisco. Or say something like “You don’t look like a Southern pig farmer.” He’ll practically hit the ceiling of his Prius.

Because there are a few things about Southern food that the man just can’t stand: its hayseed image, the insiders who feed that image and the ignorant outsiders who believe in it.

Home Sweet Home: The New American Localism

Home Sweet Home: The New American Localism

by Linton Weeks  - December 13, 2011 by NPR

You can talk about the global village, a mobile society and the World Wide Web all you want, but many in our country seem to be turning toward a New American Localism.

These days, we are local folks and our focus is local. We are doing everything locally: food, finance, news, charity. And maybe for good reasons.

"One bedrock thing that is going on," says Brad Edmondson, founder of ePodunk and former editor of American Demographics magazine, is that "because of aging and the recession, people aren't moving around as much."

The U.S. Census Bureau backs him up with a news release — based on a recent report — titled "Mover Rate Reaches Record Low." The bureau found that only 11.6 percent of Americans changed their living spaces between 2010 and 2011. That is the lowest rate on record since the Current Population Survey of the United States began tracking geographical mobility in 1948. In 1985, for instance, the changed-residence rate was 20.2 percent.

"With homeowner mobility at an all-time low, more people are putting down roots and getting to know their neighbors," Edmondson says. "At the same time a lot of households have seen sharp declines in discretionary income. They are looking for ways to relax that don't cost as much, and they are substituting cooperation for cash."

The new version of the popular bumper sticker "Support Your Local Sheriff" could become "Support Your Local Everything."