The Top 3 Reasons to Eat Local

I often hear about how expensive it is to shop at farmer’s markets or to buy organic produce. I can’t argue with that. But isn’t there something fundamentally wrong with a lack of accessibility to local food? I believe we have a tremendous influence as consumers, and with that comes responsibility. We must choose to influence the food industry through intentional, value-driven consumption.

Cool, that sounds powerful. But why would I want to pay more? What do values have anything to do where I buy my onions?

Honestly, it’s really hard summarizing all of the reasons to choose local into a list of only three. But for the sake of simplicity, I want to highlight these three incredible benefits of eating fresh, local food.

1. Taste- Plain and simple. Home-grown produce tastes AMAZING. Don’t believe it? You don't have to take my word for it. Let’s talk about tomatoes. When tomatoes are refrigerated, there is a physical change in the structure of their cell wall. This affects not only their texture but also their taste. Have you ever had a flavorless, mealy tomato from the grocery store? Chances are it was transported across the country in a refrigerated truck so it didn’t rot along the way. However, even a minor divergence from its ideal temperature can cause a tomato’s flavor to change. Oftentimes food storage and distribution systems just aren’t ideal for preserving that mildly tart but smooth and balanced (and delicious!) tomato flavor. With local farm-to-table models, produce travels less distance and therefore needs less refrigeration. Nothing beats the taste of a home-grown, hand-harvested tomato stored in perfect temperatures on a farm dedicated to providing the best quality.

2. Relationships with Local Farmers- This is hands-down one of my favorites. When you walk into a grocery store and pick up a pepper, you have no idea how many hands have touched that pepper. Someone planted the seed. Someone else transplanted it to the field. Someone applied heavy pesticides and chemical fertilizers (yikes). Others weeded and watered it. Then someone harvested it, someone packaged it, and someone drove it to a store. Someone else unloaded it from the truck. Then someone put it on a shelf, someone else took your credit card info, and only then is it yours. Although there’s beauty in cooperation, there’s a deeper beauty in knowing someone who is personally committed to growing your food from start to finish. Most local farmers are available to answer your questions. They are happy to provide recipes. They are often able to take your feedback and grow specific varieties that YOU want. Local farms offer a single-source origin to your kitchen needs through an invaluable farm-to-table relationship.

3. Environmental Impact- We’ve probably all heard this one. Eat local, it helps the environment! Interestingly, it’s not just about the carbon footprint for this one. Because of their size, small farms often have the luxury of using natural farming methods. Compared to large corporate farms that have to rely on effective chemical pesticides/herbicides, the local farm is doing wonders to preserve biodiversity and protect long-term food security. In addition, sourcing local reduces the amount of greenhouse gas generated by refrigeration, storage, and vehicle emissions that would otherwise be involved in corporate farming. Not to mention the packaging and distribution systems. Large-scale farmers have to think about the longevity of their produce, and package it appropriately to ensure it’s sellable when it arrives. Brown paper bags and compostable packaging aren’t just used by local farmers because they’re trendy. It’s viable because that produce isn’t traveling far--and thus, you can cut down tremendously on plastic packaging that ends up in landfills or water sources.