Defining and Marketing ''Local'' Foods: Geographical Indications for US Products

What are local foods? If you do not know your local producer, then how can you know whether the product you are purchasing is local? These questions are at the heart of an emerging debate in the United States about authenticity and the value of local eating. In the United States, from the menus of its elite restaurants, to urban farmer markets, to the procurement strategy of its largest corporation, ''local'' is fast becoming an important food category. Several distinct forces drive its popularity and yet, in the absence of certain credence attributes to assure what indeed is local, its future is uncertain. This article explores what defines ''local'' and how the term is protected in trade. It suggests that intellectual property protection is underdeveloped to foster local food product designations. Cases in the United States illustrate that some viable mechanisms do exist to ensure the specific provenance of a food but that in large interconnected markets these mechanisms present some notable challenges for both producers and consumers. In its review of different approaches to protecting and fostering local food systems, the article finds that geographical indications (GIs) may be more conducive to local food systems because they are not owned but rather attributed, and, in this way, even smaller producers have access to the marketing potential of a GI label. Improving approaches to GIs in the United States, perhaps learning from the sui generis systems in other countries, could further the development, protection, and success of local products.