Food is a golden thread intricately and deeply woven throughout every part of humanity. From our well-being to our cultures and history, food touches every area of our lives. For generations, people relied on their land and neighbors to produce food—a local food system. The rise of globalization, though, has left us swimming in the sea of the global food system. Food systems describe the people, activities, processes and infrastructure involved in producing, distributing and consuming food. We’ve shifted from a purely local food system to being engulfed in a global food system that, in this age of convenience, is hard to escape, but perhaps it’s time to embrace a new mindset when it comes to agriculture and our meals.

Many studies have found that, although the global food system succeeds at meeting the growing demand for food, people are left to tackle another set of challenges and inadequacies in the wake of the global food system. To meet the world-wide need for food, agriculturalists choose to push land and animals to produce in unnatural excess. This type of production, evidence suggests, has harmful impacts on the environment, because it takes more resources and results in destructive outputs.

The modern, global food system might be to blame for the United States’ food waste epidemic, because, as Rita Hennigan, UpRoot Colorado co-director, believes, individuals are no longer intimately connected to the sources of their food. UpRoot is a nonprofit organization that works to increase the nutrition security of Coloradans by harvesting and redistributing surplus, nutrient-dense foods while supporting the resiliency of farmers. People with food equity take for granted the abundance of food that is available, and they assume that it will always be available. Yet, last year, one in three Coloradans worried about having enough food. Meanwhile, good food left on farms or forgotten in the refrigerator is sitting with the garbage.“ [Across the U.S.] 34 billion pounds of surplus remains on farms, while about 60 billion pounds of food is wasted by individuals and homes each year,” Hennigan shares. As the copious amounts of waste sit in landfills with little oxygen, the amount of greenhouse gasses emitted builds up.

The global food system is more susceptible to casualties since there are so many interconnected parts. Disruptions in the global food system can be linked to climate shocks, conflict and strife, and transportation and storage facility miscommunication, among other matters. These events can hinder people’s access to nutritious food. Coloradans experienced this firsthand when Glenwood Canyon was closed due to flooding after the Grizzly Canyon Fire. Grocery store shelves emptied out, because trucks carrying food from other parts of the country weren’t able to make it to parts of Western Colorado.

The global food system is not regenerative nor is it resilient. Building a patchwork of robust local food systems, though, could create a more sustainable global food system. “Starting in your own backyard, starting locally, is the way to create a global system that is regenerative,” says David Laskarzewski, UpRoot Colorado co-director. Local farmers and growers, typically, value practices that are healthier for humans and the environment. “To produce healthy food for people, to produce healthy people, you have to start with the soil and the microbiome. You can do it on a [large] scale, but it hasn’t been readily done,” Laskarzewski explains. “If we use [food] well, we ourselves will be at our best. We’ll realize more of our potential, we’ll have more joy, we’ll have more balance and we’ll be able to contribute more meaningfully to our society.”

As Dr. Dawn Thilmany, professor and co-director at Colorado State University’s Regional Economics Development Institute, points out, without the global food system, Americans would not have beloved items such as coffee or pineapple, and nobody wants that. Perhaps, we don’t have to eat strictly locally or exclusively globally; however, most people don’t even realize that their spinach is from Mexico and don’t investigate local options. She suggests shifting our mindsets around food to include both systems. Although what we have done in the past aligned with our goals (a world-wide food system intended to feed the world, for instance), some of our goals have changed as our cultures have evolved.

Plus, not all societies desire the same things from their food systems (some groups of people value organic produce, while others may place more emphasis on traditional food, for example), and local food systems allow for these diversities. “[Local food systems] are starting to allow places to have their own value systems, priorities and cultures reflected in the food systems,” Dr. Thilmany explains.

Rosie Skovron, Slow Food Boulder County volunteer board member, shares, “The way that we eat and grow has been shaped so dramatically by the pressures of globalization and capitalism. In a perfect world, I would like to think of a balanced food system in which the global food system is an arena for the exchange of ideas, inspiration and a few incredibly regionally-specific ingredients, while local food systems should form the foundation of our diets.” Jodie Popma, chair of Slow Food Boulder County and certified nutritionist, says that building a balance between the local and global food systems will take time. The Slow Food chapters throughout Colorado strive to educate the community about good, clean, fair food for all. They do this through community gardens, educational events at local farms and potluck events on the Western Slope.

Finding local foods can be tricky, especially in the winter. Unfortunately, as Laskarzewski points out, we don’t currently have the infrastructure in place to make eating locally year-round an easily achievable goal. Experts agree that contributing to our local food system is rooted in awareness — understanding how many hands your food goes through before it gets to you and how many aspects of your life the golden thread is wrapped around. You can choose to grow, preserve and produce some of your own foods, and a little research can lead you to farms that produce in the winter months, such as Flipside Farm in Hotchkiss. Plus, there are many farm stores that sell locally produced food, such as Blain’s Farm Store in Clifton. Even chain stores like Natural Grocers and Whole Foods sometimes provide access to locally grown, nutritious foods.

The USDA does not define what the term “local” means as it relates to food; it can vary widely based on region. Popma guides, “Knowing your farmer is key.” Not only do local food systems provide community members with more nutrient dense foods, strengthen the local economy and, currently, use the environment’s resources in a more responsible way, they also keep local food cultures alive. “In my opinion, food culture is similar to art culture. It is beautiful, regional and special. The more global we become as a society, the lines can blur related to food culture,” Popma says. Skovron emphasizes, “To improve our relationship to our soil, water, air and neighbors (humans and others!), we should eat locally. Food is a means for people to share and celebrate aspects of their identity and culture.”

We can promote local food systems by supporting farmers and producers with our purchases, elevating food workers to reflect the vital role they have in the community and educating ourselves and our children. Awareness is the first step in understanding the nuances and diversities of food systems, and awareness will, inevitably, lead to a profound appreciation of our food, the earth from which it comes and the people who strive diligently to bring it to our tables.

Originally published in the Winter 2022-23 issue of Spoke+Blossom.

A Forgotten Golden Thread: Local Food In Western Colorado