Not so long ago, it was just dirty frickin' hippies and know-nothing Kentucky farmers who were preaching "shorten the supply chain."
"Local distribution patterns could change too. Stephen Gaddis, chief executive of Pacific Cheese Co., a Hayward, Calif., cheese processing and packaging firm, thinks high fuel prices will push restaurants, retailers and food manufacturers to look for suppliers closer to their operations.
'Local sourcing is ideal. You won't pay as much for freight, and when you use less fuel it's better for the environment,' Gaddis said.
Soaring diesel prices will make companies rethink whether they should have large, centralized plants or build smaller ones around the country.
That's what Pacific Cheese is doing. It's building a packaging plant in Texas to be closer to one of its larger suppliers and expects to serve its Southwestern clients from there.
In the near future, however, consumers can expect to pay for the higher cost of producing food and moving it around the country, say food executives, farmers and economists. Even having a deep-dish pizza with extra cheese brought to your door costs more now that chains such as Pizza Hut are charging for delivery."
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