Abstract
Although most Americans enjoy a plethora of food choices, as well as an abundance of foods throughout the year, most of this food is processed and travels a long way to our tables. In exchange for plentiful food, evidently, we have given up local and regional sources and supplies of food. Since about 1930, the trend toward centralization, standardization, and specialization has discouraged local production in food, as it has discouraged local and regional production in other industries. This essay considers how this process occurred in perhaps the most archetypical agricultural state--Iowa--to understand how national trends played out on a small stage, and how Iowans responded to these pressures. In the last few years, local and regional food producers have begun to rebound in reaction to these trends.
