Fall 2009

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Going the distance for local food, farmers

Pirog is shown talking with Japanese journalists during a visit to an Ames grocery store. His research on how far food travels has made him a popular source for media, fielding several requests for food system information every day. In 2008 he handled an average of 75-100 media calls, many about the 1,500 "food miles" number.

With more attention given to our carbon footprint, it's hard to overlook this oft-quoted tidbit: Food travels, on average, 1,500 miles from farm to plate.

Rich Pirog, with the Leopold Center of Sustainable Agriculture, is the source of the sound bite.

His 1,500 "food mile" number has been cited in books, journal articles and by news organizations from the New York Times and Reuters to Oprah. The reports continue to be some of the most popular items on the Leopold Center Web site, and are required reading in more than two dozen college courses throughout the United States.

Pirog will be the first to tell you that this fact requires some context. The figure comes from small studies in 2001 and 2003 that looked at fresh produce from across the United States arriving at several locations in the Upper Midwest. He is quick to note the findings cannot be generalized beyond that.

"This number has taken on a life of its own with the media, writers, chefs and food nonprofit organizations, and it has helped create a greater awareness of and interest in local foods," he says. "I've always said that food miles are not a good indicator of the environmental impact of our food system; to do that we need to conduct Life Cycle Assessments, or LCAs, across the entire food supply chain."

Pirog sees his work on food systems directly connected with his roots in suburban New Jersey, where his father operated a small dairy.

"Food always was an important part of my community, we had a very diverse food culture," he says. "I've been fortunate that as the sustainable agriculture movement evolved and food systems became part of the agenda, I've been able to pursue my passion."

Pirog is a long-time staff member at the Leopold Center, now serving as associate director and as leader of the Center's Marketing and Food Systems Initiative. He directs the Value Chain Partnerships project, an Iowa-based network for food and agriculture working groups. Overseeing competitive grants that supported more than 100 food system projects since 1996, as well as numerous in-house research activities, Pirog has put the Leopold Center and Iowa State on the local foods map.

His research includes several nationwide surveys on consumer attitudes toward ecolabels, local food and food safety; Iowa's place-based and traditional foods; a report that provided the background for Iowa's emerging grape industry; and a directory of climate change terms. He has written chapters for two books, several articles in peer-reviewed journals, and an article for World Book's Science Yearbook.

His newest work includes a survey of prices for local produce, meat and eggs and their conventionally-sourced counterparts in four Iowa cities. Pirog also has been collaborating with a researcher at Canada's Dalhousie University and others to conduct LCAs of various beef and pork production systems in Iowa.

Does he consider himself a "locavore'? Pirog does most of his family's food shopping and some of the cooking. During the summer he gets produce from his garden and a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farmer, and he buys milk and eggs locally.

"I try to eat local. But I don't go overboard," he says.

STORIES online extra:

• Read Rich Pirog's work on food miles and the importance of local food systems on the Leopold Center's Food Facts Web Site.
• Learn more about the Center's efforts to build local food systems throough Value Chain Partnerships
• Read about the Leopold Center's research and support for Iowa grape growers