This article examines the question of why local food has become, for many activists and scholars, a core concept for understanding food systems and globalization and for challenging systems of injustice and inequality. I begin with the French concept of terroir, which is often translated as the “taste of place,” and examine why this term, part of France's cultural common sense, is difficult to implement in other places. I then consider efforts to use local foods to grapple with the forces of globalization and efforts to use ideas about local food to moralize capitalism and humanize food distribution systems. I examine the relationship between movements for food sovereignty and food justice with local foods. Finally, I explore the uses of local foods as part of efforts to develop, assert, and sometimes market local, regional, or national identities.

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