Is Local Just Another Buzzword?

This article is written by guest contributor, Joanna Lin.

[Editor's note: This is another article in a series on the New York City Wine and Food Festival events, which is a proud sponsor of Share our Strength and the Food Bank for NYC in the fight to end childhood hunger.]

That was the main question on Friday during the “Has the word ‘local’ lost all meaning?” discussion panel during the New York Food and Wine Festival. The panel featured executive chef and co-owner of Blue Hill Restaurant, Dan Barber, restaurateur and Top Chef personality, Tom Colicchio, executive chef of Eleven Madison Park, Daniel Humm, TV personality and executive chef of Butter, Alex Guarnaschelli, and Heritage Foods USA founder, Patrick Martins. The discussion was moderated by Esquire food writer, Ryan D’Agonstino.

About 10 years ago, “going organic” gained momentum became a ubiquitous term found all over grocery stores, but what about the word “local?” What defines local in the first place? All panelists had the same question. Alex Guarnaschelli even went as far as looking it up on Wikipedia. Wikipedia states that it is anything within “a reasonable distance to transport goods and services” or within 400 miles. Nearly all the panelists found this surprising. Tom Colicchio initially thought it was anything within 100 miles.

Then Dan Barber posed the question: “what does local really mean – are we being sold on the word ‘local’ so that it feels like we’re doing good?” Then spurred many thoughts: what did it mean when Applebee’s went local? Can a chain restaurant truly be local when certain crops cannot be found within a “local” distance? There was much to debate and no consensus was met, but one major thing was agreed upon: it should not be a pursuit for “local” for the sake of “good” rather; a chef’s quest should be for flavor.

Each chef began to share personal stories of how they came to realize sourcing locally was the way for them. Not only was it supporting local farmers and smaller farms, but was about the pursuit of flavor. Alex Guarnaschelli shared a story of how the potatoes she purchased at the Union Square Farmer’s Market brought out the earthy flavors of the soil in which it had been planted. Dan Barber spoke of teaming with the Cornell Breeding Program and local farmers to create new types of plants. For instance, hundreds of types of tomatoes were developed, but never actually planted and most definitely sent to market. Barber is seeking the complexity in flavors of different plants and is trying to change the flavor palate of visitors to his restaurants.

All chefs were in consensus that the manner in which we conduct our search for changing our lives if we believe “going local” is “good” is by ensuring that everything we do is within our own means. Patrick Martins reminded everyone that we [New Yorkers] often forget that we’re in a part of the country where the “bounty is rich.” We have an amazing variety of vegetables from all around New England, and not only that, but from around the world, all types of food generally arrives in New York City. Even further, Tom Colicchio reminded us that it is nearly impossible to be local in the winter in New York. Therefore, is it within our responsibility to seek out only seasonal vegetables?

With all the questions raised, it is a fantastic opportunity for us to question how our food is sourced and what our responsibilities are as “citizens of the earth.” Even the small act of questioning the food decisions we make and why we make them is a small step toward doing something good for the manner in which we want our food to be sourced. Therefore, I left the panel questioning what I wanted to do for my food and what I was pursuing in taste.

Photos by Joanna Lin for Appetite for Good.

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