I'm sure you've seen advertisements on TV or signs in the grocery story, highlighting the importance of buying foods from local farmers. It is a trend that I expect to continue. There are a variety of reasons buying local will persist, but there are certainly some things you need to be careful of. You can't just assume that your neighbor is better than someone else's just because they're closer. I will start with the benefits and then highlight potential negatives to consider.
In terms of benefits, local farms typically spend less time in transit, meaning the food is fresher and has more nutrients. Because of this, local foods have higher amounts of vitamins and minerals while lasting longer. Unfortunately, unadulterated produce items can lose nutrient content rather fast. If produce is frozen or canned quickly after harvest, they can often be higher in nutrient value than products in the produce aisle that have traveled a great distance, despite a general assumption that these foods carry greater freshness.
You also support your neighbors and local economy while helping to reduce transportation costs and the fossil fuel impact on the environment. All else equal, why not spend your money in your own area? Your community will benefit from the trickle-down multiplier effect. The more local dollars that circulate through local businesses, the more disposable income is created. Furthermore, it means more taxes collected and spent in your community on schools, roads, and other public goods.
Eating local produce, particularly if your community as a whole is focused on it, can help out greatly in emergencies. When disaster strikes, as it did with Hurricane Sandy in 2012, there can be significant issues in the supply chain. Many grocery aisles in the Northeast were bare with new deliveries days from arriving. This happened with gasoline as well. Although it is not a guarantee at all, eating local produce could help in times of need. To me, this is a bonus to all of the other positive benefits I already mentioned.
That being said, it is important to consider a few other issues. First, all of the positives I already mentioned will be negated if the farms use GMO seeds, which are genetically altered to increase crop yields by adding chemicals or spliced traits from animals or other plants. GMOs are often called Frankencrops. I have never seen a peer-reviewed study supporting the use of GMOs yet the argument against their use is significant and growing.
The second area to be careful of is pesticide usage. Buying local does little for you if the food you are buying was doused in cancer-causing chemicals. I highly recommend purchasing only from organic farms. They don't necessarily have to be USDA certified, but it helps, particularly if you don't have a relationship and established trust with the farm.
The benefits of buying local produce are significant if you avoid the dangers of genetically-modified seeds and cancer-causing chemicals. These dangers are too great to consider local products. It would be better to buy organic or non-GMO produce from greater distances.
In terms of benefits, local farms typically spend less time in transit, meaning the food is fresher and has more nutrients. Because of this, local foods have higher amounts of vitamins and minerals while lasting longer. Unfortunately, unadulterated produce items can lose nutrient content rather fast. If produce is frozen or canned quickly after harvest, they can often be higher in nutrient value than products in the produce aisle that have traveled a great distance, despite a general assumption that these foods carry greater freshness.
You also support your neighbors and local economy while helping to reduce transportation costs and the fossil fuel impact on the environment. All else equal, why not spend your money in your own area? Your community will benefit from the trickle-down multiplier effect. The more local dollars that circulate through local businesses, the more disposable income is created. Furthermore, it means more taxes collected and spent in your community on schools, roads, and other public goods.
Eating local produce, particularly if your community as a whole is focused on it, can help out greatly in emergencies. When disaster strikes, as it did with Hurricane Sandy in 2012, there can be significant issues in the supply chain. Many grocery aisles in the Northeast were bare with new deliveries days from arriving. This happened with gasoline as well. Although it is not a guarantee at all, eating local produce could help in times of need. To me, this is a bonus to all of the other positive benefits I already mentioned.
That being said, it is important to consider a few other issues. First, all of the positives I already mentioned will be negated if the farms use GMO seeds, which are genetically altered to increase crop yields by adding chemicals or spliced traits from animals or other plants. GMOs are often called Frankencrops. I have never seen a peer-reviewed study supporting the use of GMOs yet the argument against their use is significant and growing.
The second area to be careful of is pesticide usage. Buying local does little for you if the food you are buying was doused in cancer-causing chemicals. I highly recommend purchasing only from organic farms. They don't necessarily have to be USDA certified, but it helps, particularly if you don't have a relationship and established trust with the farm.
The benefits of buying local produce are significant if you avoid the dangers of genetically-modified seeds and cancer-causing chemicals. These dangers are too great to consider local products. It would be better to buy organic or non-GMO produce from greater distances.
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