In a previous post I made it sound as though I am a proponent of the local food movement. In many ways I am, but I believe that it can be taken to an extreme. There are problems with a 100% local diet.
For example, Weston Price found that healthy land-locked societies went to great lengths to get food from the ocean. Being from the great lakes region (Michigan), I am aware that in the past the region was known as the goiter belt because of a deficiency of iodine. Most goiters are caused by iodine deficiency. One of the best places to get iodine is from ocean foods.
Not all traditional diets are healthy. There are some that are and some that are not. The health of the population of those eating traditional diets may very well depend on its location. Price found that those near the sea were nearly always more healthy than those that were not.
I try to eat as much local food as possible because it’s fresher, more nutrient dense, and just plain tastes better, but there are some foods you should eat that simply are not available locally.
