PEORIA MAGAZINE June 2023

COMMENTARY

REGARDING OUR FOOD CHOICES, LET’S REALLY GO FRESH, LOCAL

BY DR. DAVID TENNANT PHOTO BY RON JOHNSON

Copi cooked and served at Kelleher's in Downtown Peoria

E ver wonder why a shoe pro duced and shipped from halfway around the world is cheaper than a shoe made halfway across town? Assuming you can even find a shoe made locally. Which you can’t, because it’s too expensive. It’s an amazing feature of an integrated world economy. Transportation is cheap. Cheaper than

you think, around 30 cents a pair, or one minute, 12 seconds of time at a $15-an hour wage. The distance feels big, but it is a near irrelevant part of the price. All in, this is a net positive. I can think of alternative uses for whatever money I save on shoes, and likely so can you. But it’s not all good, and where it’s potentially causing problems is with food and health.

Every now and again, restaurants will open promising locally sourced this or that, and good on them. I’ve never understood restaurants opening in middle America promising the best Maine lobster or Maryland crab. No question those things are great, and I’m looking forward to trying them next time I’m in those regions, but I don’t need it down the street. Also, it’s unnecessary.

86 JUNE 2023 PEORIA MAGAZINE