On August 7, 2017, UW Political Science Professor Anthony Gill wrote an article for FEE (Foundation for Economic Education) discussing the merits of buying local. In this article he describes a situation where a pie, labelled local, is actually not very local at all.
Though the pie was made in Washington it was baked in Airway Heights, WA which is 275 miles east from the Gill’s home city of Duvall, WA. The pie was made up chocolate and coconut; ingredients that grown in Southeast Asia and Africa then processed in Central America. Due to a labelling policy set by Safeway, it creates a paradoxical situation where the city of Vancouver which is closer to Duvall would not merit the “local” label whereas the pie from Airway Heights would merit it.
Professor finishes the article explaining how technological advances have made the ability to buy from faraway places cheaper and more efficient than trying to grow it all in Washington.
To read the full article, click here.