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Food produced locally
is fresher and higher in nutrients. Produce loses vitamin potency when
picked days or weeks before you eat it. Many items are picked unripe
for shipping and are not allowed to develop to their full potential.
Some produce is ripened or preserved artificially with gases, chemicals
or the process of irradiation. Local produce has been picked within
24-48 hours so your fruits and vegetables are fresh, ripe, nutrient
dense and do not require preserves other than refrigeration or ice.
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Local food requires less shipping and packaging to get it from the field to your dinner table, limiting the "food miles."
Shipping and packaging both depend on petrochemicals to produce the
fuel, plastic wrap and energy used along the way. Large scale
agriculture depends on petroleum based fertilizers which not only
pollute our food but the surrounding land and waterways near the
fields. The "dead zone"
in the Gulf of Mexico is suspected to be caused by fertilizer run off
into the Mississippi River that drains into the gulf. Local food is
also much less likely to be grown as monoculture,
meaning our farms grow a wide variety of items, keeping genetic
diversity and protecting ourselves from the consequences of
catastrophic crop failure. Farm land preservation also protects our
remaining open spaces from development, leaving them free for wildlife
or the possibility of farming in the future.
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| Money spent on local products or at local farm
stands keeps the dollars in our community more efficiently than buying
products from a national chain store. It also improves our collective food security,
keeping agriculture as a viable way to make a living and ensuring that
we have farms around us in the future when we may depend on them in an
emergency. |
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Many people assume that local food is more expensive than comparable items purchased at the supermarket. If you are only looking at dollars and cents, sometimes they will be cheaper at the grocery store, but this is not always the case. A study done at Seattle University earlier this year found that farmers market prices were slightly lower than supermarket prices, when items were compared pound for pound.
What we may see as high prices on some local goods are a lot closer to the true cost of producing that particular food, as opposed to the industrial food system which depends greatly on externalizing costs. This means that the cost of an item is artificially low by taking advantage of someone somewhere else. This is achieved by monoculture, massive plantings of one item, "packing them deep and selling them cheap" in the same way that big box stores have made material goods very affordable. Cheap, illegal immigrant labor is another way companies can save on costs, and the current state of industrial agriculture does not really discourage the practice.
Let's not forget about subsidies (our tax dollars) on crops that make processed foods much more affordable calorie for calorie, when compared to fresh, local produce. Subsidies make the raw materials (peanuts, rice, corn, soybean, wheat) dirt cheap for processed food companies. This is why a you get more chips than carrots for the same dollar.
We also have to consider the toll industrial agriculture has on our environment. While a broccoli crown may be a few cents cheaper at the store, you can buy the local equivalent and know that you have done your part to lessen your impact on the planet.
It is all a matter of your priorities. 10 years ago we didn't have the spare time we now have to spend checking email and searching the internet. 10 years ago we may have balked at spending $4.00 on a cup of coffee. Buying local food is better for you, the environment, and the local economy. Our lives depend on the health of these elements and if you believe in that you will support them every chance you get.
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Why is eating locally so important? To many, eating local can be a challenge. We are
in the habit of walking into a supermarket and having unlimited choices.
This habit has blinded us to some of the consequences of the global
food system.
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Consequences of the Global Food System
• The U.S.
spends $139 BILLION each year just to TRANSPORT our food (17% of our
total energy use).
• Your
average bite travels 1,500 miles to get to your table.
• In 1940,
1 calorie of fossil fuel produced 2.3 calories of food. Today, 10 calories
of fossil fuel produce 1 calorie of food.
• The cost
of food is now linked to the price of oil. As oil prices rise, so too
will the cost of food.
• In 1900, farmers
kept 40 cents of each food dollar. Today they
keep only 7 cents.
• Corporate
agribusinesses’ profits have doubled since 1990.
• The U.S.
has lost 240 million acres of viable farmland since 1970.
• Two companies
control 75% of grain distribution worldwide.
• 60% of all
U.S. retail food sales goes to just 5 supermarket chains.
• Since 1950,
riboflavin (vitamin B2) levels in conventional grocery store produce
have declined 38%.
• One large hog
Confined Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) produces as much sewage as
a city of 100,000 people.
• More than 100,000
U.S. families lost their farms between 1996 and 2001.
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Benefits of Buying Food Locally
• Your dollars
stay in your local economy. Washington state farmers contribute $24
million to their local economies each year.
• Your dollars
support local jobs.
• You support
businesses that steward the land and keep it in agricultural production.
• You help farmers
prosper so that they continue to farm and pass their knowledge and experience
to younger generations.
• You reduce
our dependence on foreign oil and decrease the impact of carbon emissions
that come from transporting food long distances.
• You connect
with your landscape and your community.
• You help promote
biodiversity.
• You eat fresh,
nutritious, and delicious food!
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