Hi there! I am Bianca Rockelrath from Green Giving Co and local is one of my passions! There are many advantages to not buying your food from the supermarket. Eating delicious, fresh locally grown or made food is better for the consumer, farmers and community. Here are 8 good reasons why:
CERES published a report in 2008 on Food Miles in Melbourne, Australia. This report showed that an average shopping basket of 29 common food items travelled over 70,000kms. That is nearly two times the distance around the Earth. Just four imported items in the study accounted for nearly 50,000kms! Travel involves the significant use of fossil fuels for shipping on planes, ships, refrigerated trucks and rail cars, all contributing to global warming.
BY BUYING FOOD GROWN LOCALLY, YOU’RE ALSO HELPING MAINTAIN OPEN GREEN SPACES IN YOUR COMMUNITY.
When the farmers are making enough from their produce they are less likely to sell off farmland to developers, which means the landscape is preserved. The farms also in turn provide a habitat for wildlife and maintain the ecosystem.
Local food uses less packaging. Buying produce or food from a local delivery company such as Munch Crunch Organics or your local farmers market is a no-frills process that involves less packaging. Because the produce doesn’t need to travel long distances, it is less likely to get damaged, therefore doesn’t need as much packaging.
By choosing to buy food locally you support local jobs when money is spent close to home and is reinvested in businesses and services in your community. Buying locally is investing in our children’s future, supports sustainable farming and Australian grown produce.
Local food supports local farmers. The number of farmers has dwindled, mostly because the profit per dollar on food has decreased. This forces many farmers to fold to large scale agriculture operations which receive government subsidies and the business of corporate supermarkets.
LOCAL FARMERS ALSO COMPETE WITH GROWERS IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES THAT CAN SELL THEIR FOODS FOR A MUCH SMALLER PROFIT MARGIN.
BUYING LOCAL MEANS MORE PROFIT FOR THE FARMER AND CUTS OUT THE ‘MIDDLE MEN’, IN TURN HELPING FARMERS CONTINUE TO FARM.
Eating local produce and locally made food means eating seasonally. Even though we wish certain foods were grown year round, the best time to eat them is when they are harvested. By eating with the seasons, we are eating foods when they are at their most flavoursome, are most abundant and the least expensive.
Local food is more nutritious. Unlike supermarket produce, which has been harvested early and spent weeks in cold storage, local food has a higher nutrient value.
ONCE HARVESTED, PRODUCE QUICKLY LOSES NUTRIENTS, THIS IS A PROCESS CALLED RESPIRATION. BASICALLY, THE FRUIT OR VEGETABLE STARTS BREAKING DOWN ITS OWN PROTEINS, FATS AND CARBOHYDRATES.
Since local produce is sold right after it’s picked, it retains more nutrients.
Locally grown produce is guaranteed to be fresh. Produce that travels long distances is days older. On average, foods at a supermarket take six to seven days to arrive on the shelf. This is not including foods that are purchased ‘out of season’, which may travel many thousands of kilometers further and take even longer to arrive on grocery store shelves. Sugars turn to starches, plant cells shrink, and produce loses its vitality and flavour. Locally grown food is full of flavour.
Purchasing food at supermarkets is so normal and many people do not think about where their food comes from, how it was grown, or what chemicals were used in its manufacture. Consumers should be more vigilant of this fact.
LOCALLY GROWN, SMALL BATCH MANUFACTURED FOODS GENERALLY DON'T HAVE A LONG SHELF LIFE REQUIREMENT SO THERE IS LESS NEED TO ADD PRESERVATIVES OR SPRAY WITH CHEMICALS.
Supporting local farmer and food producers today helps keep these people stay in your community, ensuring that your children and grandchildren have access to nourishing, flavourful and abundant food.
When you choose to buy locally, and make your choices known, you raise the consciousness of your family, friends, and neighbours. Eat local and enjoy! Bianca, Green Giving Co (Green Giving Co make gift hampers that are 100% vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free and cruelty-free.)