The New Economies of Scale

Last night, I resumed reading Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, a book I had shelved for some time because I became so overwhelmed with guilt about my current eating habits and knew I was not in a place to change them. The problem with eating disorders-even those that remain dormant 90% of the time--is that just thinking about food can lead to anxiety. So, when you're in a place of forcing yourself to eat--even if that means your fifth bowl of Cheerios--contemplating food sources and the economics of the food industry are not really priorities.

But I recently started seeing a nutritionist and feel like I'm in a place where I can start to make better choices not just about what I eat, but the types of things I choose to consume and the people I support in making those choices.

I've never been a fan of chain restaurants--in fact, I remember being appalled last year when my consulting firm recommended that a small, rural county we were working with pursue chain restaurants like Chili's and Huddle House to improve its local economy. What about encouraging local entrepreneurs to start new businesses and better yet--ones that are less likely to pull out and leave the podunk town behind in order to save a couple bucks in this uncertain economic climate?

So, while I've always had the philosophy that local is better in terms of dining out, that hasn't really translated as much to other aspects of my life--at least in Atlanta. Growing up, we always patronized businesses owned by family friends--the pharmacy, the dry cleaner, the gift shop. But as big businesses swooped in and bought up these establishments, and as I moved on to bigger and bigger cities, the concept of local was pushed further and further from my consciousness.

But now, as an entrepreneur myself, I see how well my creative friends are doing with their own endeavors, and how important word of mouth and customer loyalty are to our businesses. And I'm beginning to think that part of the solution to the current economic crisis is to start shopping locally again. Not just for food, but for banking, clothing, professional services and more. Why should our dollars pay for the shipping of out of season foods cross country and exacerbate the current fuel crisis, when they could benefit the local farmer in our own backyard? And why not support people who are producing great services right here in Atlanta, without fancy Midtown offices, massive corporate headquarters and other unnecessary overhead?

Not that I anticipate meeting 100 percent of my needs through local businesses, but I can at least start by making better choices about where I spend my limited dollars.