Product of Canada...Product of Colombia...Grown in Mexico. Often in our local supermarkets, especially in the produce section, we see fruits and vegetables that come from other parts of the globe instead of coming from close to home. Many environmentally conscious people are encouraging consumers to purchase food locally.
What is local food? In a nutshell, local food is not grown overseas or in other parts of the world. In other words, there are some of the products, as in fruits, vegetables and meats as well, are more likely to survive the local climates.
The question is why should we buy and use local food production? According to some environmentally-friendly people, getting produce is an excellent outlet to learning more about local farming. Besides learning about local food farming, the food that we are accustomed to eating travels cross-country, overseas, and across the rest of the world. Guess what?
The refrigerator that the food are chilled in during the long trip burns more fossil. Talking about bad for the environment! It can take its toll on everything around us.
When we buy local foods straight from the farmers, there is a boost-up in their income. This means that the farmers can run their business more efficiently and closer to home and at the same time helping the economy.
What is the difference between sustainable food production and industrial food production? Sustainable food production tends to focus on the healthier aspect of the food as well as the environment, especially in terms of animals, allowing fair wages to the farmers, and giving a helping hand to the farming industry.
Unlike sustainable food production, industrial food production utilizes on fossil fuels. Many people know that this can produce greenhouse gases, which plays a huge role in the change of the climate as well as the entire environment. Unfortunately, not many people are aware about the food transportation process. He/she does not realize that the favorite T-bone steak may have to travel three thousand miles before its final destination--the dinner table. In fact, approximately forty percent of the energy used involves chemicals, as in pesticides and chemical fertilizers.
Get this! In addition to preventing fresh foods from perishing during the transportation and storage for a lengthy time, industrial food production also involves the usage of paper and plastic packaging. As a result, the meat packaging process is not reusable or recyclable. There is also a large amount of pollution in the industrial farm.
Caring for the environment is a very good cause. As with anything else in life, there is always misleading information. Just because a consumer purchases local food does not mean that it is safe from pesticides, chemical fertilizers, and anything else that will present a health and environmental hazard. Ensure that the food is supposed to be local are from farmers and/or garden workers that are utilizing methods of sustainability.
Sources:
www.sustainabletable.org/issues/eatlocal
www.sustainabletable.org/issues/whybuylocal/
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