Virginia Postrel has an interesting article in this past weekends WSJ about being a locavore. For those of you who are not familiar with this term it is the idea of buying only local produce. South Carolina has a campaign to be Palmettovores. The point of her article is that as a means of persuasion if individuals are willing to pay high prices for local produce that is of fresh and high quality great, but as means of policy this counters the economic benefits of trade and is a local form of protectionism.
She writes: "Like tastemakers from Anna Wintour to Steve Jobs, Mr. Pollan is just trying to persuade the public to share his sense of excellence and, with it, his willingness to pay. The real problem with his prescriptions isn't economic elitism but produce xenophobia. The locavore ideal is a world without trade, not only beyond national borders but even from the next state: no Florida oranges in Colorado or California grapes in New Mexico, no Vidalia onions in New York or summer spinach in Georgia." You can read the entire article here.
For those of you who read the blog or follow us on Facebook you should know that Virginia Postrel will be speaking next week at the College of Charleston as part of the Initiative for Public Choice & Market Process BB&T Free Market Process Speaker Series
She writes: "Like tastemakers from Anna Wintour to Steve Jobs, Mr. Pollan is just trying to persuade the public to share his sense of excellence and, with it, his willingness to pay. The real problem with his prescriptions isn't economic elitism but produce xenophobia. The locavore ideal is a world without trade, not only beyond national borders but even from the next state: no Florida oranges in Colorado or California grapes in New Mexico, no Vidalia onions in New York or summer spinach in Georgia." You can read the entire article here.
For those of you who read the blog or follow us on Facebook you should know that Virginia Postrel will be speaking next week at the College of Charleston as part of the Initiative for Public Choice & Market Process BB&T Free Market Process Speaker Series
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