Case History: False Locally Grown & Locally Sourced Claims at Restaurants

As you sip on your morning coffee, you click through the articles of your local newspaper online.  A restaurant review catches your eye with a photo of drool-worthy dishes.  The place has one of those cutesy one-word names with an ambiance described as “sophisticated-rustic”…and a price tag to match.  The writer touts the unbelievably fresh and locally sourced ingredients that make up every dish.  You are so excited about the new restaurant that you immediately log onto OpenTable and book the soonest available reservation.  When you arrive the atmosphere, the service and the food all live up to the hype of the article.  The best part of the whole experience is the moral satisfaction of knowing that all of the locally grown and sourced ingredients support local farmers and producers. 

But what if it’s all a lie?  What if that food wasn’t truly locally grown and sourced?  Who’s lying?  The cute new restaurant?  The cheery little old vegetable farmer you envisioned tending to your micro-greens?  The government that regulates your food?

Read the Case Study.