지역식량체계에서 소비자의 역할에 관한 연구

A Study on the Consumers' Role in the Local Food System

The problems of agriculture and food production in Korea are serious. These problems were brought about by the global food system. In this system, farmers and consumers are disconnected. The distance between food production on the farm to the consumer's table is too long. Farmers can not survive as their food dollar is steadily decreasing. Consumers have to eat old, unclean, and poor-quality foods because the foods do not come from nearby farms. They do not know where their food has come from or by whom their food was grown. In order to solve these problems, the transition from the global food system to a local food system is imperative. In a local food system, farmers and consumers are connected and they can help each other. This study identifies the consumers' role in the local food system. They are the purchasers of local food. They are active participants both in producing and distributing local food, and in taking part in the local food movement. Above all, they are the teachers of the younger generation consumers. While consumers in the global food system are passive, those in the local food system are active. We call the former "food illiterates" and the latter "food citizens." In order to revitalize the local food system, consumers must be food citizens, and therefore, consumer education is necessary. There are several interdependent media forms available for consumer education such as field trips, farm experiences, education for returning to the farm, and food education.