If I asked you to name a food movement that benefits both the consumer, grower, and the environment, chances are that you would answer "organic food" or "fair trade". However, there is another movement that meets these criteria that has continued to grow in popularity since the early 2000s (although the method of eating is as old as time itself).
This is the "local food movement", which is exactly what it sounds like - eating food that is grown and sold locally (up to a 400 mile radius).
While food that is grown locally is not necessarily organic by definition, there are many health, environmental, and economic benefits that rival those of the organic food movement. Here are seven great reasons to give local eating a try:
1. Reduce your Carbon Footprint
Although you may buy your produce from a "local" grocery store, those fruits and veggies most likely come from a number of places across the country - or even the world. It is said that a typical meal in the U.S. (including meat and vegetables) may travel from 1500 – 2400 miles to reach your table.1
Not only does this impact the quality of the food you eat (see #3), but it also means that more carbon emissions are being created from the transportation of your food than if you were to eat local produce. Reducing the number of miles your food has to travel reduces your carbon footprint.
2. Support Small Business
One of the easiest ways to eat locally is to buy produce from a local farmer's market. Most sellers at these locations are small-to-medium size businesses, meaning your money will help support local families, independent sellers, and good-'ole-fashioned entrepreneurship. Additionally, you might be surprised to find that you get hooked on other local products that are often sold at these markets, including soaps, baked goods, wines, and even quilts!
3. More Flavor in Every Bite
Eating locally also means a return to "eating with the seasons". When buying locally, the only things that will be available for purchase will be those that are "in season" based on local growing conditions. Therefore, the food you eat will not only be fresh, but will also be produced by conditions that are most favorable to that plants growth (meaning better natural flavor)!
4. Help Your Allergies
While this has been considered somewhat of an "old wives' tale", there is growing evidence that eating locally-produced raw honey may actually help curb your allergies. The way this works is that pollen from local plants is deposited in honey as it is produced by bees. If this honey is regularly eaten by an allergy sufferer, this pollen builds up in the body and desensitizes the immune system to that irritant. It is important that this raw honey be produced locally so that an immunity will be build up to the pollen that allergy-sufferers actually encounter.2
5. Boost the Local Economy
When food is bought from small, local sellers, your dollars stay in the local economy for longer. Not only is this because profits are not reported back to large corporations, but because companies that sell locally may be more likely to do their business locally as well.
6. Fewer Preservatives
Since the produce found in your local grocery store is typically transported thousands of miles from grower to store (see #1), a good question to ask is..."How long did it take to get there?" Refrigerated trucks help a with the task of keeping produce fresh during longer transportation periods, but preservatives are often needed to ensure that produce reaches its final destination. Eating food that was produced locally (even up to 400 miles away) means shorter transportation times, and therefore reduced need for preservatives.
7. Know What You're Eating!
The best part about buying locally is quite simply that you have the opportunity to talk with the people who grew your food! From start to finish, growers will be able to provide you with information about where the food was produced; what (if any) pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers were used in production; and what farming methods were used to grow your food (in addition to their environmental impact).
If you are interested in eating locally with Da'Peppah CSA (in the Western NY area) visit our website at
DaPeppah.webs.com.
For more information on the local food movement, and to find a farmers market near you in New York State, visit
nylocalfood.com/
