You buy and eat organic. But do you buy local? You can beyond organic and choose to become a locavore by purchasing only (or mostly) locally grown products: dairies, fruits and vegetables, meat and poultry, as well as wine and beer in some areas. The benefits? There are many!

It’s only after WWII that the United States shifted from local food sources to national and global ones. Along with this shift came massive use of pesticides, refrigerated trucks and numerous oil-using collaterals such as processing, packaging and even advertising. According to a Time magazine article, “food sold in U.S. supermarkets averages some 1,500 miles from farm to plate”. Buying local helps reverse this trend and reduce harmful and wasteful use of numerous materials.

The benefits

The benefits to your health may be significant as locally grown fresh produce usually do not have recourse to as many chemical preservatives or processes such as ionizing radiation. Since the food is picked at harvest, it is riper and fresher. Also, your local food (and you) cannot be accused of high “food-miles”. Local can be more desirable since less oil was involved in its transportation from farm to you.

Buying local also means supporting your community and local economy, that is, your local farmers but also the many businesses and services that those farmers will shop at thanks to your food dollar. In the long run, it’s your entire community that will reap the benefits.

Without suddenly going all out and eliminating every food and ingredient that is not locally grown (imagine your life without coffee, black pepper or even rice!), it is feasible to introduce a few sound and healthy changes to your daily life and buy local. The first and most important step is to be aware of that option.  To know more about Locavores , their 100-mile Diet or how to eat locally, you can visit locavores.com or eatlocalchallenge.com.

Where can I buy local food?

You can shop at farmers’ markets, community gardens, food co-ops, or any business that belongs to a local food network or that observes a community-based agriculture (such as roadside farm stands).  To find more local food stores in your area, visit the National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service.

You can also subscribe to a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) organization. CSA is a special partnership between you and the farmer who sends you a basket of produce, flowers, eggs etc, weekly (or monthly depending on availability). To learn more about a CSA in your area, visit localharvest.org.

However, all that being said, there is yet another element to consider when we shop for our food and that is seasons. Read our Buying Seasonal article to learn about the obvious and less obvious benefits of buying seasonal produce. 

 

External links:

Leopold Center about Local Food: http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/research/marketing_files/WorldBook.pdf