The “local trap” refers to the idea of assuming that there is something inherently superior in a product because it is from a local source. The trap arises because of the inconsistency within the definition of what it means to be local as well as from a tendency within the local foods literature to presume that if global or large scale is bad then local or small scale is good. This term was first coined by Purcell and Brown (2005) then further developed by Born and Purcell (2006) as a cautionary message critiquing researchers for shortcomings in providing analytical evidence to support claims of the local food movement.  The term ‘local trap’ is associated with a critique of the local foods movement and it arises from the weakness of the analytics, skepticism surrounding potential for growth (both of the local foods system itself and its spill over into the larger economy), as well as political concerns. These shortcomings do not necessarily indicate the presence of fallacy in the local foods agenda, rather, they serve as an important and pressing agenda for furthering local foods research and policy analysis.

Sources:

Born, Branden, and Mark Purcell. “Avoiding the Local Trap Scale and Food Systems in Planning Research.” Journal of Planning Education and Research 26.2 (2006): 195–207. jpe.sagepub.com.

Purcell, Mark, and J. Christopher Brown. “Against the Local Trap: Scale and the Study of Environment and Development.” Progress in Development Studies 5.4 (2005): 279–297. pdj.sagepub.com.

Entry: MS