Transportation & Energy...

January15^th was Michigan’s primary day. The number one issue here in Michigan is the economy, which got me thinking: should the number one issue in Michigan be food? And what if it was?

As a whole, Michigan is just starting to maximize its local food potential. Farmers are just starting to market their local produce in grocery stores, and consumers are learning how to choose a Michigan apple over one from, say, Argentina. Researching an article about local food over the summer, I came upon some interesting statistics, some of which, I imagine, relate to other states as well:

As the auto economy slows, agriculture could save Michigan. Cars bring in around $80 billion each year, food is a close second, at $60 billion. And, the state has agricultural diversity that’s second only to California. Suffice it to say that it’s not far fetched to think that Michigan could soon be known as much for its blueberries and food tourism as for the Big Three.

Even now, if each of us in the state spent $10 a week on Michigan products, whether that’s honey or apples or crafts, we’d put $36 million back into the state’s economy each week—no small change for a state still recovering from a budget crisis. To break it down a different way, if one of our meals in every ten came from the local food system, we could support all the farmers in the country successfully—without big corporations or farm subsidies.

Looking at local food, we also need to invest in our farms. We currently lose about eight acres of farmland each minute, and by 2040, we’ll likely lose 71% of our mid-sized farms, those between 50 and 499 acres.

There is good news. Sales are increasing, according to the Select Michigan campaign, in 2004 sales of Michigan foods increased 8.6% at Meijer and Spartan stores in Grand Rapids and Detroit. The fresh asparagus market has increased, from selling 5% of their crop to grocery stores in 2002 to 25% in 2005.

As the race heats up, it’ll be interesting to see if this issue even gets addressed in Michigan, and nationwide. In the meantime, off to the ballot.