The recent desire to eat local foods extends beyond the fishing market and has ballooned into a massive food movement. But what exactly constitutes “local” food? In 2009, Lay’s began their local food campaign by creating a series of advertisements that focused on their use of locally produced potatoes from different regions of the United States. Lay’s, a global brand, tried to utilize the local approach by showing the small farmers who benefit from the consumption of Lay’s products. Many “locavores” were offended and shocked by this attempt to undermine the integrity of the local food movement and even went as far as to call this campaign greenwashing. In their opinion, a global corporation is the complete opposite of what the local food counterculture originally stood for. Despite extensive research, I could not find any information about whether this practice extended into Lay’s international markets and if the chips consumed all over the world were also produced with potatoes grown locally to those specific regions. The local food movement might be something that Lay’s felt only appeals to their American consumers and does not have the same appeal or cultural relevance in other countries.
