Local is the New Organic
This article caught my attention, as have several similar articles lately, regarding how we shop for food in our country and what it means to our health, environment, and culture, specifically around the practice of seeking out and eating local food products.
A strategy of choosing locally produced food strikes me as a sensible and fun way to improve my health and reduce my environmental footprint. If a product only has to travel a couple of hours from the farm to my table, rather than days or weeks on planes, trains, and automobiles, then less fuel and resources will be consumed in bringing my meal to me. My food will be fresher and likely yummier. I’m enjoying reading that organic growing practices are going hand in hand with the eat-local trend, as well, so that fewer chemicals will be manufactured and end up in my body. Sweet.
And I certainly don’t want to forget the fun factor. If I frequent the local farmers’ market, I’ll get to enjoy meeting folks from the farms, and mingling with people from the community.
The article mentions that the typical supermarket carries about 30,000 items, about half of which come from just ten multinational corporations. Yikes. If you know me at all, you’ve probably heard me express concern over the influence of the ever-expanding corporation and its impact on human well being. I’d way rather have the farmer who is actually growing my food receive my support. Well, here’s to putting my money where my mouth is ~ point me to the nearest farmers market!
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