Ken, it doesn’t puzzle me in the slightest, I simply don’t agree with the reasoning. The transportation cost/pollution cost argument is not a given, it’s an assumption, and has been demonstrated by more than one study to be false when all factors are taken into account. The economic reasons only hold valid if you hold to a “supporting the local economy is better than supporting the global economy” viewpoint, which I don’t, and if your assumption that the person you pay locally is going to spend the bulk of his money locally – that may or may not be true. You also clearly have lost your sense of humor/sarcasm if you couldn’t see that in what I wrote.

As to restaurants in particular – I have no objection to someone sourcing their food locally, supporting local farmers, etc. I do find it a ridiculous conceit to make grand claims about how your restaurant is all about the locavore/locally sourced/sustainable movement, when the only thing you apply it to is your herbs, lettuces and maybe a few other ingredients. When it comes down to it, the vast bulk of what a restaurant buys is rarely sourced locally, even when much of it could be – from building materials to decorative items, to kitchen utensils, plates, glasses and flatware, linens, wines and liquors, bottled waters, soft drinks, spices, condiments, oils – the list could go on and on – and, if you want to get down to it, particularly in the NYC restaurant scene, probably at least some percentage of the staff are illegally in the country and working there. All things that ought to be considered part of such a grand vision/mission statement, but in my experience never are.

No Dan, he isn’t as local as the guy you can throw a spitball at. Nor is it that a farmer around the world is or is not deserving. What it really comes down to, and I’m surprised it puzzles you, is that local businesses help support the local (read your neighborhood/city/burg/whatever locale) economy. The farmer gets paid for his crops or animals, he spends at least a decent part of that money locally. This helps other local businesses, at least the ones the farmer buys from.

On the other hand, money sent across the world helps that farmer, certainly, and no doubt the local community there. Altruism aside, let those who live there also buy locally while we do the same and keep our money in our own local economy.

Another important reason to buy as locally as you can is that transportation costs and pollution are much less. If all it takes is a truck to drive my lettuce across town, that’s a lot less polluting that shipping or flying it across the globe or country.

If there were some way people could travel anywhere instantly so location and time didn’t matter, suppose everyone decided to go eat at restaurants in Europe or anywhere but Argentina. What would that do to Casa Saltshaker’s economy?