If the many social, environmental and economic crises facing the planet are to be resolved, a good place to start is to rebuild local food economies. Food is something everyone, everywhere, needs every day, so even small changes in the way it is produced and marketed can offer immense benefits.

This title shows how a shift towards the local would protect and rebuild agricultural diversity. It would give farmers a bigger share of the money spent on food, and provide consumers with healthier, fresher food at more affordable prices. It would reduce transport, greenhouse gas emissions and the need for toxic agricultural chemicals. It would lessen the need for storage, packaging, refrigeration and artificial additives, and it would help revitalize rural economies and communities in both the industrialized and the developing world.