Hundreds join AgriAdvocates campaign in favor of local farming, food

SALT LAKE CITY — The local food movement is making waves in Utah.

A new poll by the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food found buying local food is important to 51 percent of Utahns. The poll also found that 75 percent of Utahns believe a portion of food tax should protect farmland and 92 percent think farming and ranching are important to the state.

The news was well received during the Salt Lake City Farmers Market on Saturday, where UDAF launched its AgriAdvocates campaign.

In front of a Richter7 ad featuring tanks rolling through fields of wheat with the slogan "In the war to prevent our dependence on imported food, this is the front line," hundreds of locals signed up to be an AgriAdvocate.

"The American farmer is resilient, but it's hard to make a profit farming," said Jed Christenson, marketing director for UDAF. "The whole purpose of developing this program was to heighten the public's awareness of agriculture in their lives."

Between 2003 and 2008, Utah lost 500,000 acres of agricultural land to development. Across the U.S., an acre of farming land is lost every minute.

"This is an alarming trend we'd like to see reversed," added Christenson.

Indeed, results from the poll that surveyed 400 residents in northern Utah found that 77 percent believe the loss of farmland will lead to a greater dependency on foreign food, and 84 percent said farmers and ranchers are responsible stewards of the land.

Larry Lewis, UDAF spokesman, hopes AgriAdvocates can be a solid team of diverse supporters along the Wasatch Front, not just farmers. They'll be alerted of updates through an e-mail list and Facebook page.

He points to a bill during the 2010 legislative session by Rep. Jack Draxler, R-North Logan, that would have provided revenue to counties to preserve farmland. Public support for the cause fizzled, and it never made it out of committee. AgriAdvocates voicing their support, though, could have saved it, Lewis said.

"People are overwhelmingly supportive that farming is a vital part to Utah's economy," he added. Fourteen percent of the state's economy is in agriculture. "Now people can get involved in issues that affect farming."

More Utahns care about buying local food (51 percent ranked it as important) than organic (only 21 percent felt organic was important).

Utah's Own, the coalition that promotes local food, was not surprised by the results. The group has grown from 15 members to 500 in nine years.

"We have to find a way to preserve our agriculture land so we can produce food here," said Richard Sparks, deputy director with UDAF and Utah's Own. "The buy-local movement has been strong the last four to five years, but it's really taken off the past year or two."

To sign-up to be an advocate, visit agriadvocate.org. To view survey results, visit ag.utah.gov.

e-mail: astowell@desnews.com