I recently presented at the Future Trends conference in Miami. My presentation was called ‘Good Ideas in 2010′ and it is the first part of a project to deliver a book later this month with the same title.

Continuing the theme that local is more about good stuff created by people with heart, we noticed this bar close to our NYC office with its proud signage for ‘Local Food – Local Beer – Local Wine’.

The second outing of the New Amsterdam Market took place last weekend and PSFK was in attendance checking the artisinal food stands – and their wares of course.

A sign on the window of a fashion boutique in Nolita waves the local flag.

Bodega is launching its first endeavor, the “Mapping Project.” The meet-up, which takes place tomorrow at 303Grand in Williamsburg, Brooklyn aims to connect creatives, start-ups, social entrepreneurs, and small business owners with the purpose of spurring collaboration.

Currently, two of the biggest trends of the year have been bikes and local sourcing. Combining the two is NYC’s Bowery Bicycles, who weld, paint, assemble, pack and ship all their wares in and from Brooklyn, NY.

The Wall Street Journal recently produced a fascinating video covering the new world of peer to peer finance which features Hub Culture’s Ven, which can be used both online and off.

Chef Eric Ripert says that the food industry had sabotaged what we eat and that we need to understand how our diets impact both ourselves and the planet.

In a move that aligns well with the supermarket push to place more of their in-house brands on their shelves, while at the same time keeping pace with consumer demand for locally-sourced products, UK Grocery Store chain Waitrose has announced that it will only sell milk and other dairy products that come from British cows. The products will be sold exclusively under the Essential Waitrose label, a further commitment to their network of 60 British dairy farms, a partnership now in its tenth year that ensures fair prices and best practices.
The store’s website explains their dairy standards, purportedly the highest [...]

We noticed something interesting printed on the sodas that were on the table at an all day workshop we attended (as consultants) yesterday. The Pepsi cans say New York (and they were ‘bottled’ in New York state too).

Image Credit: Getty Images, vAns/Flickr

There’s been plenty written on the subject of converting urban space into farmland, from rooftops and abandoned lots to the empty beds of pickup trucks, but this idea always revolves around growing various varieties of vegetables and rarely strays into the realms of animal husbandry. Sure there’s the recent emergence of secret communities of city beekeepers and the age old tradition of rooftop pigeon coops, but now it appears even the humble chicken is getting its due.
A new documentary called ” Mad City Chickens” takes an informative (and often whimsical) look into the increasingly common [...]

With so much talk around the benefits of buying local foods – keeping money in local economies, lessening environmental impact and being both healthier and better tasting – the concept of food miles – the distance food travels to get to your plate – carries an increasing level of import. But short of better labeling and greater transparency on the part of distributors and supermarket chains, the process of understanding where your food comes from still requires a lot of legwork on the part of consumers.

Image Credit: Getty Images, Kin Lush/Flickr

With that in mind, we really like the Far Foods [...]

British brewery and pub chain Scottish & Newcastle are testing a scheme with the British post office that will see pubs used as delivery centers. The UseYourLocal service lets packages get redirected when the Post Office can’t deliver. It’s part of a scheme that aims to out the pub back into the community by offering more relevant services than keeping 17 year olds occupied on a Friday night. Springwise reports that about 500 pubs have joined the scheme.
Use Your Local

Local First, a Grand Rapids. Michigan based organization that encourages sustainable, locally-based economies has made a simple but effective illustration of how money flows if it’s spent at a locally owned business versus a non-local business.
They explain their top ten reasons to shop local first:
1. Significantly More Money Re-circulates In Greater Grand Rapids.
When you purchase at locally owned businesses rather than nationally owned, more money is kept in the community because locally-owned businesses often purchase from other local businesses, service providers and farms. Purchasing local helps grow other businesses as well as the Greater Grand Rapids tax base.
2. Non Profits [...]

Filmmaker Ian Cheney has transformed the bed of his old, gray Dodge Ram pickup into a fully functioning farm. To convert the back, Cheney adapted elements of green roofing technology – adding drainage, a water-absorbent bottom layer and lightweight soil – enabling him to plant a crop of heirloom vegetables and still be able to drive, giving an entirely new meaning to the idea of food miles.
In an effort to track the growing process, Cheney has installed a solar-powered timelapse camera onto the truck’s roof that captures real time footage of the progress that will later be edited into a short film. [...]