Abstract
Most existing efforts toward revitalizing local food production have focused on fresh produce and animal products, largely neglecting staple crops such as grains. Nevertheless, there has been increasing interest in many parts of the United States in relocalizing grain production. Wheat is the most commonly consumed grain in the United States. Commercial bakers could be important supply-chain intermediaries for locally grown wheat, but little is known about their attitudes toward local wheat and how they define local. We surveyed commercial bakers in western Washington State and interviewed experts involved with local wheat movements in other regions. Thirty-four percent of survey respondents defined local as within the state of Washington, 25 percent provided a multistate definition, and 14 percent provided a flexible (or reflexive) definition that referred to two or more geographic regions. Perceived barriers to purchasing local wheat included supply-chain, price, quality, and scale factors. We conclude with discussion of the opportunities and challenges for the relocalization of wheat flour supply chains.
Highlights
Introduction and Literature ReviewIn recent years, local food systems have received renewed attention in the academic literature (Bloom & Hinrichs, 2010; Ostrom, 2006; Peters, Bills, Lembo, Wilkins, & Fick, 2009), the popular press (Kingsolver, Hopp, & Kingsolver, 2007; Pollan, 2006), and government initiatives such as the U.S Department of Agriculture’s “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food” program (USDA, n.d.)
Through a mail survey of commercial bakers in western Washington, our goal was to learn how commercial bakers define local in the context of purchasing wheat and flour for their bakeries, and to understand what they perceive as barriers to the purchase of local wheat
While our survey results may not be generalizable to other areas, they can inform grain relocalization efforts by revealing the inherent challenges and opportunities in connecting staple crop producers, supply-chain intermediaries, and consumers
Summary
While various authors have sought to define local foods (Dunne, Chambers, Giombolini, & Schlegel, 2010; Giovannucci, Barham, & Pirog, 2010; Ostrom, 2006; Pirog & Rasmussen, 2008; Selfa & Qazi, 2005), there is a shortage of literature on how “local” is defined in the context of staple crops such as wheat. This study aims to better understand the definition of local wheat from the perspective of commercial bakers, who are important supply-chain intermediaries. While our survey results may not be generalizable to other areas, they can inform grain relocalization efforts by revealing the inherent challenges and opportunities in connecting staple crop (e.g., wheat) producers, supply-chain intermediaries (e.g., processors and bakers), and consumers. Our study contributes to the nascent literatures on the relocalization of staple crops and the perspectives of supply-chain intermediaries
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