IS LOCAL A MATTER OF FOOD MILES OR FOOD TRADITIONS?

In the last decade, the local food movement has achieved a growing popularity in the Italian food system. Nevertheless, the Italian food market still lacks a shared definition and labels indicating the local origin of the food products. In this study, we explore the meaning of "local food" in the Italian market using a qualitative approach. Results from twenty-three individual semi-structured interviews show that the meaning of "local" should be explained more in terms of connection between a community traditions and a geographical area than in terms of food miles. Keywords: food traditions, Italian food market, local food, qualitative research