Why Eat Local?

I am Gabe Corwin. I am from a small town in Oregon called Bend. I have always been a picky eater, but in an activist sort of way, more of a spoiled kid way. I have never cared where my food came from in my life. Why would I? Food is food right? After reading things such as Jonathan Saffran Foer's Eating Animals about how animals are treated before they die, and the inefficiencies that exist, because of the amount we transport our meat, and John C. Ryan and Alan Thein Durning, about where all of our stuff comes from. These books made me think about trying to be more aware of where my food comes from. Not only are local foods probably not factory farmed, but we also waste less fuels and less carbon dioxide has to be emitted, it seems more efficient. It makes me wonder why all people don't just eat locally and what roadblocks there are that prevent people from making these choices.