The typical Australian grocery basket has traveled an estimated 70,000km from origin to you. That is the equivalent to travelling twice around the circumference of the earth. A lot of the produce sold in supermarkets still originates from the other side of the world and this is more pertinent for produce that is out of season. While it may seem great to have such a large selection of produce available year round, it costs the environment greatly to have produce transported all around the world. When your food travels around the world to get to you, it uses lots of energy which means lots of greenhouse gases are emitted in the process. It’s not just the distance, it’s also the refrigeration along the way, and the energy that goes into packaging the food for the journey and storing it when it arrives.By purchasing produce locally, you save large amounts of greenhouse gases pouring into the air you breathe. Local food also tends to be offered for sale in season and so is both fresher and more likely to work with, rather than against, local biological systems and species, minimizing the requirement for pesticides. Ironically, fresh and local is also cheaper.See more at Go Local: Farm Fresh Will Secure Our Future Bacon.Image: Vereshchagin Dmitry/Shutterstock