Economically, we are what we eat

We currently import at least 90 percent our food from outside the Portland region, about $4.7 billion a year with related inputs included. We could increase our regional wealth by between $470 million and $940 million annually if we shifted between 10 and 20 percent of our purchases from imported to local foods.

Through his compelling article, Economically, we are what we eat, Bob Wise addresses those facts and examines the challenges of providing local foods in Oregon.  He asks, if we are sitting in the midst of one of the world’s most food-abundant places, why is it so difficult to buy food grown here?  The answer is that we import most of the food we eat.  Bob considers ways to reverse this significant “leakage” dynamic. He proposes strategic solutions to findings from several recent research projects conducted by COC and regional partners that attempt to answer these questions:  how we can support expanded agriculture to accommodate import substitution, what it would take to increase demand and supply of local food, how to help farmers keep a greater share of the food dollar and stay in business, and how we can increase our human and social capital to support the food economy.

The blog is the second in a series of six articles on import substitution on the Sustainable Business Oregon website.

Food Night Discussion at COC

Bob Wise recently hosted leaders in the regional food movement to a night of sharing progress on all fronts to advance the vision of a Metropolitan Foodshed for the Portland Region.  He shared work on localizing food spending that is summarized in a recent article in Sustainable Business Oregon.  See for the full story:  http://www.sustainablebusinessoregon.com/columns/2012/04/economically-we-are-what-we-eat.html.  We were joined by Stanford University researcher Therese Costello who discussed the importance of organizations that make small farmers more efficient and provide market access.  Ellen Wyoming also presented on the award-winning Mercado project work she is doing with the Hacienda CDC to create a Latino-themed public market in Portland.  The strong Food Night attendance and positive energy demonstrated that there we are in the midst of the birth of a local healthy food movement.  A summary of the meeting is here.

Bob Wise Launches Series of Articles in Sustainable Business Oregon

On January 31, Bob Wise posted the first of six articles on import substitution at www.sustainablebusinessoregon.com/columns. The first article summarizes the crisis in job creation facing Oregon and the nation.  Currently most economic development strategies are focused on exports of products – the traded sector.  This strategy attempts to capture money from elsewhere and bring it to Oregon.  Bob details a totally separate but compatible economic development strategy of import substitution.  At its simplest, import substitution replaces spending on imported goods and services for those made locally.  This approach keeps money here and circulating rather than sending it away.  Over the next few weeks Bob will address how this strategy can be applied to the food we eat, energy we consume, houses we build, public works we construct, and the exemplary companies focused on these markets and others.

We Build Green Cities – new Portland campaign

Bob Wise recently spoke at the EcoDistrict Summit.

We often hear the question as parents:  Do you know where your children are?  The answer is usually “yes” unless they are teenagers.  Then the answer is probably “maybe.”  Bob Wise, in his presentation to the EcoDistrict Summit asked – do we know where our money is?

Our economic development strategies can benefit if we learn where our money comes from and where it goes.  Just in the energy sector alone we spend almost $10 billion a year in Oregon on energy and it is estimated that 85 percent of that spending goes out of state.  The Portland region spends almost $5 billion on food and related purchases – an estimated 95 percent of our food is imported from outside the Portland region.  Add to this consumer goods, investments, insurance, banking deposits, credit card and mortgage payments, automobile purchases and we are talking real money.  The move to shift money from national to local banks and credit unions indicates that people are beginning to consider this challenge.  Local purchases of more goods and services – those produced here – can help localize some of our currently exported capital and help create prosperity.  We should seriously consider what we do with our money and how that harms or benefits the local economy.