the corporate co-opt of local

Sure, buying local is getting big, but even I didn't think corporations would begin attempts to profit off it so soon. Call me naive. Here is a section from an excellent article about the co-optation of local.

Even Wal-Mart is getting in on the act, hanging bright green banners over its produce aisles that simply say, “Local.” 
. . .
This new variation on corporate greenwashing—local-washing—is, like the buy-local movement itself, most advanced in the context of food. Hellmann’s, the mayonnaise brand owned by the processed-food giant Unilever, is test-driving an “Eat Real, Eat Local” initiative in Canada. The ad campaign aims to enhance the brand by simply associating Hellmann’s with local food. But it also makes the claim that Hellmann’s is local, because most of its ingredients come from North America. 

So now local is defined as within a continent?!

And learn how Starbucks is "un-branding" their stores in Seattle the corporate co-opt of local

Comments

[Ann Bingham]

I know, I saw that Hunt foods (ConAgra) is now advertising in a way that indicates all it's tomatoes are "local". Also, have you seen the ads for Lays Potato Chips-- potatoes grown from all over the nation, but, by inference, from "local", small farmers-- "your neighbors".

[Andrew Kang Bartlett]

How stupid do they think we are? Focus groups no doubt confirm we are pretty darn stupid, I guess. :-( Of course all food is grown in a locality since vegetation is rooted in place!