Presented at the Oldways Preservation and Exchange Trust International Conference on the Mediterranean Diet, January 1998, Cambridge, MA.In a society that is being rapidly pushed toward globalization, encouraging a diet that is locally produced seems, at first, both impractical and backward. It is argued here that local diets are, on the contrary, practical and future oriented. Eaters who base their diets on food produced near where they live can help retain local farmland, minimize the environmental impacts of food production and transport, reduce personal exposure to toxic organisms, and enjoy eating interesting and healthful eating experiences.