Taking pride in thinking local
NOT SO many years ago the words provincial, parochial and local were bandied about as terms of abuse. The go-getters in society and the big hitters in business were celebrated for being cosmopolitan and international; “localness” was for the stick-in-the-muds. Yet how times change.
Now top class restaurants fall over themselves to tell customers their ingredients are all sourced within 30 miles of the kitchen. Suddenly the provenance of raw materials, from the Cornish tin in a piece of jewellery to the Dartmoor fleece in a jumper, has a new importance.
So in launching the Western Morning News “Think Local” campaign on November 21 we know we are pushing at a half-open door. In 2001, when we first launched Buy Local in answer to the foot and mouth crisis, the profile of Westcountry food and drink was far lower than it is today.
That campaign, in which we urged Westcountry people to support Westcountry farmers in rebuilding their businesses after foot and mouth by always choosing local food and drink, helped to change buying habits and made local produce the fashionable choice.
It also helped to rebuild the Westcountry brand in the wake of the FMD disaster.
Now, a new crisis threatens our region. The global credit crunch is fast turning into a serious recession in Britain as well as abroad. And the downturn will hurt us badly here in the Westcountry – particularly if tourism suffers as people’s spending options become ever more limited.
In such circumstances we have to do something significant to help ourselves. The Government believes we can spend our way out of trouble and is expected to announce tax cuts to help us do just that this week.
The Western Morning News says that if we are going to spend a little to boost the economy, then for heaven’s sake spend it locally.
When we launched Buy Local the emphasis was on food because it was the food and farming industries that were suffering after foot and mouth. Now, all businesses in our villages, our market towns and our cities, from the sandwich shop to the solicitor, are having a hard time.
Yet the good news is that every pound spent locally generates £50 for the local economy whereas the same pound spent with a multinational business with roots outside of the Westcountry does almost nothing for local people.
So we urge all our readers to Think Local and, where appropriate, to spend local too. We know it won’t always be possible, but choosing local food stores, farm shops and farmers’ markets instead of supermarkets is not difficult; using local clothing retailers instead of national chain stores keeps the high street vibrant, and using local services, from plumbers to chimney sweeps, instead of their national rivals keeps money here in the Westcountry.
There are no guarantees when it comes to surviving a recession, but there are ways of improving the odds for ourselves and our communities. Sticking together and spending our money where it will benefit our own economy rather than someone else’s makes sense.
And it is not just an altruistic gesture. For the most part people have discovered that local food is generally better food. Sourcing ingredients close to where they have been reared or grown means they are generally fresher, and buying from trustworthy suppliers who can trace the origins of their goods increases confidence about food safety and animal welfare.
The same often goes for other goods from local retailers, where you will generally get personal service, a more interesting range of goods and sometimes better value too. When it comes to services, small local businesses win out over their national rivals with a greater local knowledge and better customer care.
We live in a global economy and the current financial crisis has illustrated all too acutely that bad decisions made across the world can impact on us painfully here at home. We cannot turn back the clock, and nor would we want to. Global trade has brought us many things, and the Westcountry exports as well as imports its goods and services, which helps our region.
But Think Local complements rather than contradicts the best aspects of globalism. And in times of crisis, when we should all be pulling in our horns, it makes sense. Once it was OK to criticise someone with the withering remark: “He’s so very provincial.” Now that description is a badge of honour. Please wear it with pride.