Where does local end? Where do you draw the line between local and regional, or local and national? Is it within the city, or within Dane county, or within the state or even the Midwest?

Do we or should we really care where our food comes from or who has produced it? Local food is loosely defined. Literally, it is food that is from our local area, whatever that means. But does that make a pack of Oscar Meyer wieners local because they are produced at a factory in Madison? Most would say no, so it is more than just being from a certain area. Is it the way that food is produced?

Again, it would be easy to say that if it is organic, which is often lumped in with local, and from our area then it is “Local Food,” but what about items that are not sold fresh. Madison based Flatt Energy Cola was recently released onto the Southern Wisconsin market. Can you feel better about drinking Flatt Cola because it is local, or does that not fall under that umbrella?

The French have a term that relates to local food, “Terrior.” Applied most often to wine, it is the idea that a grape isn’t just a pinot grape. That grape takes in the flavors and feel of the land that it is grown in.

So no matter if you transplant the orchards of Burgundy into Wisconsin, it will still not be making Burgundy wine because it isn’t in Burgundy. The Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays of Burgundy fall under the Appellation d’origine controlee, which is the system by which French regional products are essentially copy-written.

Claiming you are selling a Burgundy wine, which is not from Burgundy, is a very serious offense because you could tarnish the reputation of those famous wines. It is the same way for Italian hard cheeses. Pecorino Romano, Parmigiano-Reggiano, Grana Padano, all of them are hard cheeses from Italy, but those are serious terms. True Parmigiano-Reggiano comes from the Parma region of Italy, and nowhere else in the world. So local is also about money, and keeping it within an area. That is the more economic reason for “local food.”

When you spend money on Flatt Cola or on some salad greens at the farmers market you are keeping that money within the area, as opposed to letting it go to Red Bull or the Dole Fruit Company.

We eat local not only to support our communities but also to be healthier ourselves. So how does the origin of the food make it healthier? Food loses nutrients and flavor being transported cross-country. It also takes energy in the form of gasoline or diesel to bring that food from California or Florida or wherever, so eating local is good for the environment. That cost of fuel is also not applied to the end price of the product so the item is usually cheaper.

So, then where are we? Local food is about where your food comes from, and it can benefit your community, body and pocketbook. How then do you incorporate local food into your diet?

In Madison it’s pretty easy. There is a year round farmers market,- (yes, there is a winter farmers market,)- that can hook you up with pretty much any seasonal produce your stomach might desire. So by all means, take advantage of that. The Madison Farmer’s Market is one of the largest in the country and easily rivals those from massive metropolitan centers such as Chicago.

Restaurants that offer cheeses and produce from Wisconsin bill themselves as local. It’s fairly true in a city where ordering everything from major food distributors such as Sysco is the norm. Where hotels pay gobs of money to ship artisan cheeses from France when a tasty alternative at one-third the price is available just across the border, being local is pretty advantageous. It just takes a little effort to search out the product that would suit your needs. That is probably the toughest hurdle to local eating- the effort that needs to be put forth to obtain some of these products.

Once again the farmer’s market spoils us greatly. Picking up food from the market is not as efficient as running to Copps, but the interaction you get with the farmers is priceless. These farmers grow what they grow not only to make a living but also because they enjoy it. They grow artichokes because they love artichokes and can usually offer some really good advice on how to prepare them. That connection to the food will make you appreciate your meals more and make food a truly rewarding experience is what local food is. To me that’s a higher form of food, where it feeds not only your body but also your mind.