From globalism to localism

How structural economic shifts can support the local food movement

Abstract

First paragraphs:

Local is Our Future was published shortly before the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic, yet it makes a timely contribution critiquing economic globalization given the experiences of 2020. It emphasizes the need for shorter supply chains and champions local food systems by focusing on the structural forces that currently control the food system. 

In the first three chapters, Norberg-Hodge explains and details the costs of economic globali­zation, which provides an adept introduction to understanding the structural impacts of financial deregulation on health, food security, environmen­tal consequences, and growing inequality. The fourth chapter covers a topic that might seem unlikely to be included in a book on local futures, as it describes the rise of extremism, yet this is a crucial analysis for current events. This book was published before the Black Lives Matter demon­strations that occurred around the world in sum­mer 2020; however, it provides a contextual backdrop for how the globalized financial system promotes economic insecurity that can lead to the adoption of a false narrative by the far right, as observed by the backlash to BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) communities demonstrating the need for increased equality. . . .