What’s old is new, and despite Gary Truitt’s vision for agriculture, what’s new just might become old.

In a recent column (New food craze? Going local; June 16, Farm World), Gary raises concerns about "Going local." Each and every one of these concerns is the result of Gary being a mouth-piece for Big Ag.

Gary quotes and paraphrases an article in Grist, "90 percent of our diets could be local – but only if we nix Big Ag" and "They admitted their study was theoretical, not practical, and would require some substantial changes in the U.S. diet." Is the study just theoretical and, considering the increase in diabetes and obesity in America, are changes in the U.S. diet something not to be desired?

Gary belittles the local food movement because it believes big is bad. I recently took a road-trip to Pittsburgh and noticed the small towns between Minnesota and Pennsylvania are the same as in Minnesota: They are mere ghosts of what they once were. They are silent reminders of the effect Big Ag has had on rural society.

Gary writes, "If we are going to stop shipping milk across the country, then we had better start building dairy processing plants in every large city. In addition, slaughter houses will have to start popping up all over the place in order to supply meat from local farms to local stores." Gary just described the local butchers and local creameries that were in every town in the west-central Minnesota that I grew up in during the 1960s and 1970s.

Gary writes, "Only 2.4 percent of Hoosier farms grow vegetables, and only 1 percent grow fruits, berries and tree nuts. Only 63,000 acres in the state are used for growing specialty crops. This is why 90 percent of the food consumed in Indiana comes from outside of the state." Might farm bills, past and present, have something to do with this?

Gary once again touts the notion "cheap" food is a good thing when he writes, "Locally grown food products are fresher, taste better and are more appealing to consumers – but only if they are price competitive and available where most people already shop." Smart and savvy grocery retailers are already stocking locally grown food. Also, almost half of the American consumers’ food dollar is spent away from home eating at restaurants. Nobody eats at a restaurant because it’s cheaper than eating the same food at home.

In three years I hope to retire from my work and concentrate more time and effort on my little 120-acre farm in Kandiyohi County. Instead of solely raising corn and soybeans, I hope to seed the more erodible land into grass and raise grass-fed beef. Whenever I share these plans with co-workers, they get all excited and act if they can’t wait to be consumers of my locally raised beef. When this happens they will bring into reality Big Ag’s biggest fear: a smaller share of the American consumers’ food dollars.