Eating Locally and Seasonally!

Why Eat Local Food?

“The food we put into our mouths today travels an average of thirteen hundred miles from where it’s produced, changing hands at least six times along the way." - Gary Paul Nabhan, Coming Home to Eat

“At a structural level, the fundamental problem is one of scale. The ever-expanding scale of the global economy obscures the consequences of our actions. In effect, our arms have been so lengthened that we no longer see what our hands are doing. In smaller communities people can see the effects of their actions and take responsibility for them.” - Helena Norberg Hodge, Buddhism and the Global Economy

“…it is difficult for most city dwellers to be concerned about preserving farmland unless the destruction of farmland directly affects their food supply, or unless they know and care for the land being paved over. Awareness of and affection for one’s place can forestall the ethical distance so characteristic of the global food system.” - from Coming into the Foodshed; Agriculture and Human Values, Kloppenburg, Hendrickson, and Stevenson

12 Reasons to Eat Local, Organic Food

Freshness: Locally grown produce is usually harvested within 24 hours of purchase.
Taste: Produce picked and eaten at the height of freshness tastes better than non-local produce picked before it ripens.
Nutrition: Nutritional value declines as time passes after harvest. Locally grown produce is fresh and therefore more nutritionally complete. Also, organic fruits and veggies have been shown to be more nutritious than non-organic ones.
Purity: Organic production does not utilize pesticides, fungicides, or chemical fertilizers, thus preventing the risk of food being contaminated by chemical residues. Also, if you buy local and organic you will not have to worry about irradiation and the use of antibiotics.
Regional Economic Health: Buying locally grown food keeps money within the community and increases the local quality of life.
Variety: Local organic farmers are not limited to the few varieties that are bred for long-distance shipping, high yields, and shelf life. Local farms often grow a diversity of flavorful and locally adapted heirloom fruits and vegetables.
Soil Stewardship: Organic farmers endeavor to create and sustain topsoil and soil fertility.
Energy Conservation: Buying locally grown foods decreases dependence on petroleum. One fifth of all petroleum now used in the United States is used in agriculture. Local organic food does not rely on petroleum-derived fertilizers and pesticides and also conserves energy by significantly reducing the distance food is transported.
Environmental Protection: Organic growers use practices that promote biodiversity and protect our soil, air, and water from the toxic fertilizers and pesticides utilized by industrial agriculture.
Cost: Conventional food processes don’t reflect the hidden costs of the environmental, health, and social consequences that currently dominate food production practices. Even though organic food may cost a few pennies more, the overall price is much less than the ‘true’ cost of industrial food production.
A Step Toward Regional Food Self Reliance: Dependency on far away food sources leaves a region vulnerable to supply disruptions, and removes any real accountability of producer to consumer. It also tends to promote larger, less diversified farms that hurt both the environment and local economies/communities. Smaller-scale regional food production systems, on the other hand, keep the food supply in the hands of community members providing employment opportunities and enabling people to influence how their food is grown.
Passing on the Stewardship Ethic: When you buy locally produced organic food you cannot help but raise the consciousness of your friends and family about how food buying decisions can make a difference in your life and the health of your community; and about how this basic act is connected to planetary issues.