The "Eat Local Minority"

The marketing research firm Mintel released the results of a survey today which found that 17% of American adults, or one in six, buy locally produced goods and services whenever possible. Krista Faron, an analyst with the company, said, "We found that although the 'buy local' mantra has gotten strong media coverage and government support, most Americans haven't yet incorporated it into their lifestyles."

This is a great example of how you can read data in different ways depending, perhaps, on your agenda. I think it's great news that 17% of American adults buy local products whenever possible. That's a difficult standard to achieve. I buy a lot of my food at farmers' markets. Over the summer I'm at the markets five days a week. But I wouldn't say I buy local products whenever possible. There are certainly times when it would be possible for me to find a locally sourced alternative, but I don't buy it because it's inconvenient or expensive. Convenience and price aren't always the determining factors for me, but they do sometimes figure into my purchasing decisions, at least often enough that if a researcher asked me if I buy local products whenever possible, I'd probably say no.

So I think it's exciting that 17% of American adults answered the question in the affirmative, assuming, of course, that they're telling the truth.