Affirmative Articles 2016-2017 AUDL Elementary Debate
Article 1: How Consumers and Communities Can Benefit From 'Buying Local'
U.S. Money News, Rachel Koning Beals, Oct. 28, 2011, at 12:00 a.m.
http://money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/articles/2011/10/28/how-consumers-and-communities-can-benefit-from-buying-local
Four blocks from my house on the north side of Chicago is an independent toy store that has bailed me out with a last-minute birthday gift more than a few times. The knowledgeable proprietors peddle geodes to German-engineered wind-up trains, bug-collection kits to theatrical costumes. Perhaps more important than their inventory, they've kept alive that elusive remnant of the retail experience—service. They gift wrap for free year-round.
"Indie shopping" is a conscientious effort to patronize independents, or locally owned businesses, over chain stores when it's possible to do so. "Buy Local" campaigns draw the support of like-minded citizens and community groups, particularly as businesses and consumers continue their slow crawl from recession. The pro-indie argument usually centers on community benefits, from social interaction to tax revenues. There's an impact on the wallet as well.
Chain patrons typically cite prices and product variety when they opt for big-box stores. Internet shoppers do so for convenience. Plus, many individuals who might make the choice to shop locally find themselves forced to hit the chains, as downtowns and neighborhood shopping clusters have shrunk dramatically over the past two generations. That's true of both small towns and bigger cities.
But comparison shopping between independent businesses and chains is about "overall value, not just price," says Jeff Milchen, co-founder and outreach director at the American Independent Business Alliance. "There are other factors, such as service, selection, durability. You have to look at the lifespan of products before determining whether they are more expensive than at chain stores" where higher sales volume tends to lower price tags.
Milchen recalls his time in the landscape industry. He learned that the higher-end makes and models, and accompanying service, of lawnmowers he bought through a locally owned seller topped what he assumed to be a more appealing cost option at a home-improvement chain.
The energy costs typically associated with shopping at big shopping complexes or standalone chains must also be accounted for. "We've been increasing our driving significantly over the past several decades, and it's due almost entirely to shopping," says Milchen. "Plus, time is money."
Advocates say the decision to buy locally should be a lifestyle choice that reflects a commitment to the community. In one measure of community impact, consultancy Civic Economics, in 2004, conducted the Andersonville Study of Retail Economics, a fact-finding mission commissioned by Chicago's Andersonville Chamber of Commerce and the Andersonville Development Corp.
The study examined the economic impact of 10 local businesses in the Andersonville commercial district against that of chain businesses in the area. The study's findings: Of every $100 spent at local businesses, $68 remains in the Chicago economy, while of every $100 spent at a chain, $43 remains in the Chicago economy. For every square foot occupied by a local firm, the local economic impact is $179. For every square foot occupied by a chain firm, local economic impact is $105.
Although he was not referencing the Andersonville study specifically, Milchen, of the Independent Business Alliance, says his association's efforts are sometimes undermined by statistics that show a too-favorable and unrealistic gap in the community revenue benefits of independent business over national chains. Milchen prefers to look at it this way: Shopping at locally owned establishments can leverage community funds times three, on average. For example, by supporting a local clothing boutique, a consumer is also supporting a local attorney, tax preparer, and printer. Local businesses tend to source small manufacturing and banking needs closer to home as well.
Certainly, there are other retail realities. The existence of any business, chain or not, is often preferred over an abandoned storefront, and will better serve communities void of key supplies for everyday existence. While I happily patronize my local toy store, the reality is that big-box retailers that include a grocery section may just be the saviors for the vast "food deserts" across other parts of my home city, Chicago. There, zero grocery options, especially fresh food, exist for blocks on end.
Still, the risk of losing more independent businesses or even slowing their growth is only reenergizing the small-business community. Local and national campaigns that join efforts to raise awareness can boost results for indies.
A 2011 Independent Business Survey was conducted by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance and dozens of national and local business organizations. Respondents who participated in "Buy Local" campaigns reported an average gain in revenue of 5.6 percent, compared with a 2.1 percent revenue increase for those not involved in these campaigns. The survey gathered data from 2,768 independent, locally owned businesses during an eight-day period in January. It covered all 50 states and included a range of business types.
National campaigns are also gaining some traction. Nov. 26, 2011, the Saturday immediately after Thanksgiving and Black Friday, is designated as the second-annual Small Business Saturday holiday shopping promotion. An effort called Independent We Stand joined with American Express to create the national program in 2010 in response to small business owners' most pressing need: more demand for their products and services. Last year's inaugural program drove millions of dollars to Main Street merchants, the campaign says.
"Locally owned businesses reinvest in the local economy at a 60 percent higher rate than chains and Internet retailers, so Small Business Saturday shoppers will be revitalizing their economies while finding great deals at their favorite local merchants," says Bill Brunelle, project manager of Independent We Stand, in a news release.
For Milchen and other advocates, the fight is as much about preserving quality human interaction and a sense of community as it is about the bottom line.
Article 2: The Advantages of Buying Local
Pledging for Change, Amy Richards
http://pledgingforchange.com/articles/the-advantages-of-buying-local.php
We’ve all heard the idea that buying local is the only way to buy produce, goods and products these days, but what exactly does that mean? Am I supposed to go to my neighbor who’s a farmer and hit him up for some fresh veggies every day that I need them? And why is buying local so great, anyway? What’s the difference?
These are just a few of the many questions that arise when the topic of buying local comes up in conversation or debate. And with more and more people ever increasing the interest in green living and sustainability, they’re questions that deserve to be answered right here, right now.
What Does Buying Local Mean?
Buying local means exactly what it sounds like it means – instead of purchasing nationally made or internationally imported goods and produce, buy from local businesses or local farms.
The most important part of buying food locally is to check what kind of produce is grown in your area or at least in your own country. Why import apples from another country when your own farmers are growing species that are native to your country? Also it is important that you check that the produce is organic and not being sprayed with chemicals which are harmful to YOU, YOUR waterways and YOUR planet.
No, that does not mean that you have to bug your farmer friend for fresh veggies every day of the week, but it does mean that you should think about hitting up the local farmer’s market more often than you currently do, and it wouldn’t hurt to buy your next dress top from a locally owned boutique instead of a major department store.
Buying local simply means supporting local business by buying products that are produced right in or around your hometown versus nationally or internationally.
Why Is It So Great?
The question of why buying local is so great is a lengthy one to answer. There are many advantages to buying local products, some of which you will find outlined here, others of which you will find out for yourselves when you decide to try it.
While there are many advantages, there are very few, if any, disadvantages. Of course there are those who simply refuse to change their buying habits who will never understand the reasoning behind switching to buying locally produced products, but we’ll leave them behind while we talk about the good stuff!
Supporting Local Economy
By buying local, the money that you spend stays where it is. It stays in the pockets of your neighbors, in the same town where it started. By spending money in your own town at local businesses, you know that the money spent is directly helping someone who lives nearby and supporting your local economy.
Think about it this way – how many people do you think are employed by locally owned businesses or farms? Imagine how many more people in your town those businesses and farms could employ if they garnered more financial support from their own community as a result of sales? It is estimated that by raising local spending by just 10% in a community, nearly 100 additional jobs would be created. 100!
When you spend your money on locally produced produce and goods, you know exactly where your money is going, and a larger portion of it is actually going into producing more products in a locally owned business than in a large, multi-national one.
Fresher Produce
When you go to a grocery store, you have no idea how long that produce has been sitting on the shelves or in the bins. It could very well be stale or have gone bad already for all you know, and it’s an unpleasant surprise to get home and realized you bought something you can’t even eat.
That fear is eliminated when buying locally. The produce comes straight from the garden to the farmer’s market table, where you purchase it and bring it home. It’s the closest thing to having a garden of your own, so you know that you are buying only the freshest produce available.
Greater Variety
Any time you walk into a grocery store, you are greeted by the same old run-of-the-mill produce that you’re used to seeing. Head to the farmer’s market and you’ll discover all kinds of new and fresh produce that you never knew existed when you shopped at the grocery store.
Farmers and gardeners may often get a bit creative and decide to grow hybrid fruits and vegetables, or they’ll have a seed or plant imported from another country and grow something that isn’t mass produced or imported here in America.
You’ll also begin to appreciate more the fruits and vegetables that are only available seasonably – you’ll notice a crisper, fresher taste in the seasonal produce that you can’t find in the off-season stuff.
Connect With the Producer
Maybe you have a food allergy and need to check all of the foods you consume, or you’re living a vegan lifestyle and you can’t wear clothing that contains any animal products.
One of the benefits of buying local produce and locally produced goods is that you can connect personally with the person that created it and is selling it to you. That means you’ll know if the cucumber you are about to buy was harvested with any pesticides that you may be allergic to, or you’ll know exactly what kind of fabric and thread the tailor used when they made the shirt you’re considering purchasing.
You get a connection with the producer that you don’t get when you buy from the big-name stores. The producer of the product you are buying knows more about it than anyone else, and buying locally is a great way to find out exactly where your product came from and how it came to the table that you’re buying it from.
Helps the Environment
By buying locally grown or produced products, you are not only supporting your local economy, but you’re also contributing to helping the quality of the environment that you live in.
If you go to a local farmer’s market, you can probably walk there, or if you don’t right now, you should try to. You’ll save gas emissions from driving your car by walking.
The products themselves also don’t have to travel to get to the consumer – they come straight from the farm instead of being shipped from a far away place. This, too, helps save gas emissions, plus less packaging is required for the products – you can usually buy them fresh, just picked and unpackaged.
Local farmers in particular tend to treat their land very well when they’re harvesting crops, so by supporting local farmers, you’re also helping to insure that the land around you stays natural and undeveloped, and you’ll know that it’s well cared for.
So the next time you head out to your grocery store or a department store to shop for clothes, first think of whether you can buy the product you’re out to get locally. If you can, take advantage. You really can’t go wrong with locally grown and locally produced items.
Amy Richards is a freelance writer who loves to shop at her local farmer’s market.
Article 3: Buying Local: How It Boosts the Economy
http://content.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1903632,00.html
Time.com, Judith D. Schwartz, June 11, 2009
"Buy Local"—you see the decal in the store window, the sign at the farmer's market, the bright, cheerful logos for Local First Arizona, Think Boise First, Our Milwaukee, and homegrown versions across the states. The apparent message is "let's-support-local-business", a kind of community boosterism. But buying close to home may be more than a feel-good, it's-worth-paying-more-for-local matter. A number of researchers and organizations are taking a closer look at how money flows, and what they're finding shows the profound economic impact of keeping money in town—and how the fate of many communities around the nation and the world increasingly depend on it.